Together with members of the community, the Humane Society Hastings Prince Edward held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of the bird-friendly initiatives at their shelter on Friday. Garnet Thompson, Lori Borthwick, and mayor-elect Paul Fleming were onsite to cut the ceremonial ribbon and recognize the unveiling of the bird-friendly property.
The initiative comes from the efforts of the Bay of Quinte Bird Team, who secured grant funding from Nature Canada through their Bird Friendly Cities Small Grants program. This funding is designed to support municipalities in implementing bird-friendly infrastructure, which can include increasing habitat and reducing threats to wild bird species. Belleville was officially certified in May 2026 by Nature Canada as a “Bird Friendly City” and projects like this partnership with HSHPE are a key component of honouring and maintaining that certification.
As part of the initiative, the Bay of Quinte Bird Team, along with Kawartha Bird Control and volunteers from Quinte Field Naturalists, installed window-strike mitigation markers on the highest-risk windows at HSHPE, and increased the number of native trees, shrubs and pollinator-friendly plants in the outdoor space. Additional support for the project was provided by Natural Themes Native Plant Nursery and Connon Nurseries. The property’s proximity to the Bay and Potter’s Creek Conservation Area makes it a prime location for bird habitat for both resident and migrating birds, and these additions to the grounds will make the property safer and more welcoming to feathered visitors, and will also provide additional shade and greenery for the enjoyment of people and pets at HSHPE.
The theme of the day was well-represented through a quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer, read from an excerpt of her book The Serviceberry by Bay of Quinte Bird Team chair, Stacey Kerr: “all flourishing is mutual.” In creating a more humane world for the animals we share the land with, we create a more humane world for all.
