Through the cold and snowy months, gardeners are planning. Your Horticultural Society is planning too! We do some of our planning at our monthly meetings, but some happens at separate committee meetings that focus on specific projects. Our committees are open to all members and provide a way to make a big impact without a year-long commitment.
On February 11th, a few of our committees will be meeting at Lil Hil’s to start their planning for the year.
A brief summary of how some of our committees work is provided below. Please reach out if you’re interested in contributing – a variety of skills and talents are needed, not just gardeners!
Downtown Beautification – follows up on colour and theme decisions made at monthly meetings by a wider group of members to deliver on seasonal planters and contribute to the vibrancy of downtown.
Park Maintenance Committees – work to maintain gardens, planting and natural areas at Heatherington Park, Coulter Park and the Arboretum & Learning Trail. Like with the Beautification Committee, large strategic decisions are made by the wider membership at monthly meetings.
Website -contribute to Hort Society website maintenance and content by writing and editing information for posting, either on pages or the blog.
Policy Committee-a committee made of both leadership and regular members to help guide the Society. All policies are put into place by members at our monthly meetings, but this committee researches and discusses ahead of time to provide recommendations.
Golf Tournament-Our largest fundraiser for the last several years, the golf tournament has been an important piece of the development of the Wheatley Arboretum & Learning Trail. This committee puts together the event, including planning the tournament and meal, sourcing prizes and more.
Plant Sale-Our yearly plant sale helps us meet a number of objectives – helping our community to beautify their homes while raising funds to support our activities. This committee is a hive of activity for about 6 weeks before the plant sale – collecting and potting donations, creating signage and setting up a one day only garden centre. This year the sale will likely be incorporated with an event to promote composting and other sustainable initiatives.
Garden Tour-our Garden Tour is set for September 19th. A number of gardens have been selected and the committee will work through the next few months to create the tour guide, sell tickets and organize volunteers to help show off the great gardens of Wheatley.
Living Landscapes-held for the first time in 2025, and scheduled for 2027, our Living Landscapes Symposium is a one day educational event where gardeners from across the area come together to learn about gardening and living with the environment of SouthWestern Ontario.
Other Events -Parades, Wheatley Winter Sale -these are more temporary committees that pop up and are active for a few months to contribute to community events. If you’ve got ideas – reach out!