Skip to content

Art Borups Corners

Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario

cropped-1.jpg
Primary Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About Art Borups Corners
    • Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario
      • Local Services Board of Melgund
      • Borups Corners, Northwestern Ontario
      • Dyment, Northwestern Ontario
      • Neighbouring Communities
    • Reports
      • 2023-2024 Report
      • 2021-2022 Report
      • Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Tracker
  • News
    • Melgund Township News
    • Events and Activities
      • 2025-2026 Melgund Township Music Series
    • Local Services Board of Melgund Meeting Minutes
    • News Archive
    • Photos and Short Stories
  • Arts and Culture
    • Melgund Township Spring and Summer Arts Incubator Program
    • Art Borups Corners
    • Artists, Researchers and Collaborators
    • Creative Arts & Community Recreation Programs
    • Living Land Lab
    • Storytelling Club
    • The Arts Incubator
    • Recreation
      • Framework for Recreation in Canada
      • Music and Entertainment
      • Recreation for an Aging Population
      • Youth Engagement
      • Facilities
        • Dyment Cookshack
        • Dyment Recreation Hall
        • Melgund Lake Boat Launch
        • Dyment Ice Shack
        • Melgund Lake Conservation Reserve
        • The Pavilion
  • Resources
    • Melgund Township Oral History Project
    • Barnes and Noble
    • Borups Corners Adventures
    • Internet Bookshop Italia
    • Palace Marketplace
    • Thalia Books
    • Adaptive Phased Management
    • Northern Services Boards Act
    • Funding Programs and Sources
    • Guide for Local Services Boards
  • Contact
  • Arts Incubator
  • Home
  • Photos and Short Stories
  • Trefoil’s Sunshine
  • Photos and Short Stories
  • Recreation

Trefoil’s Sunshine

Golden-hued Birdsfoot Trefoil blankets open areas, adding cheerful beauty and ecological value to Ontario's landscapes.
Jamie Bell July 13, 2025
Golden patches of Birdsfoot Trefoil brighten the summer fields of Northwestern Ontario. Photo: Jamie Bell

Golden patches of Birdsfoot Trefoil brighten the summer fields of Northwestern Ontario.

Golden Sprawl of Summer

When summer arrives in full force, Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) blankets open areas with a cheerful, golden glow across Northwestern Ontario. These vibrant yellow, pea-like flowers, often clustered in whimsical arrangements, create a sun-drenched carpet across meadows and roadsides. Though not native, its widespread presence now makes it a familiar and welcome sight, providing bright splashes of color and a valuable food source for various insects. Its unassuming beauty shows us that even common plants contribute to the rich tapestry of our natural world, offering simple joy and vital ecological service wherever they grow.

This summer, our art program has been focusing on the diversity of local plants, and the sunny fields of Birdsfoot Trefoil have been a favorite subject for outdoor photography.

Birdsfoot Trefoil is widely used as a forage crop for livestock, especially in areas where other legumes might struggle. Its deep root system helps it handle drier conditions, and its nutritional value makes it a good feed source for Ontario agriculture. While not commonly eaten by humans, the young leaves and pods could theoretically be consumed, though their small size makes them less practical for foraging. Its main value lies in its role in agriculture and its contributions to pollinator health across Ontario. Discussions about such traditional plant use and the broader impact of introduced species have been a key part of our summer art programs’ storytelling sessions.

Beyond its practical applications, the visual impact of a field covered in Birdsfoot Trefoil is simply delightful. The sheer abundance of its bright yellow blooms can transform a simple roadside or meadow into a vibrant landscape. It’s a plant that quietly contributes to both the beauty and the functionality of many North American ecosystems, including those in Northwestern Ontario.

About the Author

Jamie Bell

Jamie Bell

Administrator

Jamie Bell is a Winnipeg-based interdisciplinary artist and strategist working at the intersection of media arts, community engagement, and public affairs. Among others, his work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program, with a focus on participatory media, strategic communications, and arts-based collaboration across northern and urban contexts.

Author's website Author's posts
Tags: Forest Flowers SDG 15

Continue Reading

Previous: The Orchid’s Mystery
Next: Dill’s Freshness

Related News

This year, programming in Borups Corners and Melgund Township is rebuilding memory through digital arts, storytelling, and community resilience.
  • Borups Corners
  • Photos and Short Stories

The Old Books

Terri Bell October 3, 2025
Terry's creek is drowning in junk. Can he clean it alone? Watch one boy's passion ignite a community, teaching everyone to cherish nature.
  • Photos and Short Stories

Terry’s Big Creek Clean Up

Art Borups Corners October 2, 2025
A collage of golden autumn leaves, each one carrying the marks of change and time. Together, they create a warm, textured reminder of the fleeting beauty of the season.
  • Photos and Short Stories

Yellow Leaves

Art Borups Corners September 30, 2025

Recent Posts

  • LSB Meeting Agenda
  • The Old Books
  • Terry’s Big Creek Clean Up
  • Thanking our Artists: Eva Suluk
  • Yellow Leaves
Ontario projects and programming for The Arts Incubator have been made possible with funding and support from the Ontario Arts Council.

You may have missed

The Dyment Recreation Hall has a new addition, following extensive repairs after a flood in 2022. The new addition and repairs were funded by the community and with support from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
  • LSB Meeting Agendas
  • Melgund Township

LSB Meeting Agenda

Art Borups Corners October 3, 2025
This year, programming in Borups Corners and Melgund Township is rebuilding memory through digital arts, storytelling, and community resilience.
  • Borups Corners
  • Photos and Short Stories

The Old Books

Terri Bell October 3, 2025
Terry's creek is drowning in junk. Can he clean it alone? Watch one boy's passion ignite a community, teaching everyone to cherish nature.
  • Photos and Short Stories

Terry’s Big Creek Clean Up

Art Borups Corners October 2, 2025
Eva Suluk - The Arts Incubator
  • Artists
  • Borups Corners

Thanking our Artists: Eva Suluk

Art Borups Corners October 1, 2025

NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO ARTS PROGRAMS

This platform, our Northwestern Ontario hub and programs have been made possible with support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program. We gratefully acknowledge their funding and support in making the work we do possible.

Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Arts Incubator and Art Borups Corners Collective was seeded with strategic arts innovation funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse and the Local Services Board of Melgund. We thank them for their investment, support and bringing the arts to life.

Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse Logo

SUPPORTING ARTS AND RECREATION

Borups Corners Arts and Recreation supports arts and recreation in Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario as volunteer-driven Arts Collective.

Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program
Copyright © Art Borups Corners in partnership with The Arts Incubator. All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.