Can you dig it?
Five participants from across Canada have been selected to transform their gardens with native plant species throughout 2026. With support from Canadian Geographic and our partners at Dougan Ecology, they’ll receive guidance on selecting appropriate species, planning their spaces and bringing their gardens to life.
Over the coming months, participants will document their progress through photos, videos and personal reflections, sharing both the challenges and rewards of gardening with native plants. Their journeys will be featured here as the project evolves, offering inspiration, practical insights and a closer look at how individuals and communities can help protect and steward native biodiversity.
Meet the participants below!
Lara, Vancouver
Meet Lara! Lara is a Vancouver-based urban gardener and member of her Community Garden. Working from her plot in the accessible garden expansion, she is part of a vibrant volunteer community caring for shared spaces that include native plant areas, orchards and pollinator habitats. Lara approaches gardening as both a creative and restorative practice, documenting her experiences through photography and seasonal journaling.
Her current focus is supporting biodiversity by growing nectar-rich plants and exploring native species, with plans to help guide the evolution of the garden’s Native Plant Garden alongside community members, elders and caretakers. She is particularly interested in the history of the site and its transformation through grassroots stewardship. Lara acknowledges the garden as situated on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and is committed to learning, listening and contributing thoughtfully to the land.
Kevin, Humber Arm, Nfld.
Kevin is a Canadian outdoor professional, entrepreneur and land steward with deep roots in coastal communities. Raised with a strong connection to the land and water, he spent much of his early life fishing, foraging and learning from the natural environment.
Over the years, Kevin has built a diverse career in adventure tourism and environmental education, working as a guide, instructor and park ranger. He later transitioned into the culinary world, opening and operating his own restaurant while maintaining a close relationship with the outdoors.
In recent years, Kevin has focused on restoring and rewilding a piece of land under his care, planting native trees and supporting biodiversity. Through the “Can You Dig It” project, he plans to create a Medicine Wheel healing garden rooted in respect, education and collaboration with Indigenous knowledge holders, guided by the principle of Msit No’kmaq—“all my relations.”
Chevaun, Sagamok Anishnawbek, Ont.
Chevaun is a community member and emerging gardener based in Sagamok Anishnawbek in Ontario. First cultivated by her grandparents, then cared for by her parents, and now stewarded by herself, Chevaun lives with her family on a multigenerational farm field that has long been part of their lives.
A self-described beginner, Chevaun has spent the past few years growing fruits, vegetables and native wildflowers, with a growing interest in expanding pollinator-friendly spaces across the property. The land remains an important habitat for local wildlife, and her work is rooted in a desire to support biodiversity while restoring and honouring its history.
Through the “Can You Dig It” project, Chevaun hopes to build her skills, grow native plants and contribute to local seed-sharing initiatives, while documenting the process and sharing her experience with her community.
Judy, Calgary
Welcome, Judy! Judy is a Calgary-based gardener with a longstanding passion for nature, pollinators and growing her own food. Gardening since the mid-1990s, she brings decades of hands-on experience and a spirit of experimentation to her work, continually refining her approach in pursuit of a “greener thumb.”
Her current focus is a small-scale garden where she cultivates perennial wildflowers rich in nectar and pollen, supporting what she calls B³ — bees, birds and butterflies. Judy finds particular joy in observing the life cycles her garden supports, from raising monarch and swallowtail butterflies to watching pollinators return year after year.
She documents her gardening journey through photography and detailed notes, and has even created personal websites dedicated to her garden and wildflower identification. Through the “Can You Dig It” project, Judy plans to expand her plant varieties while continuing to nurture a vibrant, pollinator-friendly space.
