New park, pollinator garden opens in St. Albert

St. Albert's Coal Mine Park celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting on Sept. 9, 2020.

EDMONTON — A new park has the city of St. Albert abuzz.

Wednesday marked the official ribbon-cutting of Coal Mine Park.

The six-hectare park sits on the northern edge of St. Albert and includes a short walking path for local residents to enjoy the tall trees and myriad of songbirds that inhabit them.

But the park was also built for the city’s insect population to enjoy as well.

Inside Coal Mine Park is a pollinator garden. The garden is a collection of plants and flowers specifically meant to attract local insects, like bees, butterflies, beetles and moths.

The goal of the garden is to encourage pollination, an important factor in the health of forests and other vegetation.

“A good pollinator garden has blooms that go from spring right through to fall,” explained Manda Wilde, senior parks manager.

“So we have different colors, different species, different sizes of flowers that actually attract different animals and different insects. So we try to have a big variety and a really colorful bouquet for you year round.”

The park is open all year for people to walk, snowshoe, and enjoy the green space.