National Planting Week 2018 results

Author: July 3, 2018

Canada, News

This year’s National Planting Week has come to an end, and, once again, we are pleased to share that it was a success!

As was the case in 2017, this year’s National Planting Week was an opportunity to continue the momentum of the Buzzing Gardens program and encourage Canadians to get outside and plant a pollinator-friendly garden. Here is a snapshot of the highlights from this year’s program.

Buzzing Gardens seed-kit distribution

  • We have distributed more than 50,000 seed kits in 2018 both online and through bulk order requests from a number of our partners.

 

  • Since the program’s inception in 2015, we have given away over 236,171 seed kits.

 Influencer Event

Bees Matter welcomed more than a dozen influencers to planting sessions on May 31, where they learned to create Instagram-worthy and pollinator-friendly gardens, helping to drive awareness of and participation in National Planting Week.

Two groups of urban influencers, including one family-friendly session with 10 children, came together at a beautiful venue in downtown Toronto to learn about honey bee health and the critical connection to agriculture.

Guests were joined by Gregory Sekulic of the Canola Council of Canada to learn about the important role Canadian honey bees play. In addition, father-and-son gardening duo, Mark and Ben Cullen, guided guests through the process of making a buzzworthy garden with pollinator-friendly plants provided at the event.

 And, the results were terrific!

 From Our Influencers:

  • National Planting Week influencer content yielded 125,728 impressions.
  • There have been 102 posts related to the event, including six additional Instagram posts from our influencers, each including our hashtag and key messages:

In total, static influencer posts have generated 16,431 likes and 754 comments and the Bees Matter hashtag #PlantForBees was used 89 times by our influencers following the event. You can find one of the influencer posts here. I’ve also attached some photos from the event for you to see.

 Media Secured:

  • As part of our event outreach efforts, Bees Matter secured several earned interview opportunities, which have resulted in three media placements earning 308,857 impressions.
  • The Oakville Beaver and Burlington Post each shared an article on how to create a pollinator-friendly garden, along with House and Home.
  • HGTV has also completed an interview with Gregory Sekulic of the Canola Council of Canada, and we expect the article will be posted early in July.

Thanks to all partners who helped promote information through internal and social channels. If you have questions or would like more details on the results, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

If you know of events over the summer where you would like to share Buzzing Gardens seed kits or information, we would be happy to provide you with materials.