Native Plant Solutions

Ever wonder who decides which grasses grow alongside the ponds? Qualico Communities has partnered with Native Plant Solutions to ensure that residents of Oak Bluff West get to enjoy the natural beauty of Manitoba’s wetlands, while raising the bar for environmentally responsible developments.

Native Plant Solutions (NPS) is a branch of Ducks Unlimited Canada, one of Canada’s leading conservation organizations. It was established to provide innovative, science-based solutions for upland and wetland native planting projects.  NPS offers a wide range of products and services around the design, installation and management of these projects.  To date, NPS has contributed to almost 100,000 acres of native grass.

Some of the advantages of using plants native to Manitoba include:

• Very little to no fertilizer
• Very little to no water inputs
• Low maintenance, easy to manage
• Easy to establish
• Long lived
• Removes pollutants from water
• Provides livestock feed
• Storm water retention
• Brown-field reclamation
• Provides nesting cover for prairie waterfowl
• Discourages Canada goose and gopher populations
• And so much more!

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has been accumulating knowledge and experience in working with wetland habitats for more than more than 65 years.  They began seeding grass in 1976, and quickly realized the advantages of using native plants.  As demand for native grass seed increased, DUC increased their capacity to help clients seed and maintain natural plantings. This lead to the founding of NPS.

Learn more about Native Plant Solutions and Ducks Unlimited Canada!
http://www.ducks.ca/what-we-do/nps/