Nice people in clean white coats show up at City Hall. They leave with $78,000

A swarm of insect enthusiasts went to the City Council chambers last night, latched its probiscus on the city's economic development fund and sucked out $78,000 to put Sault Ste. Marie on the national science education map.

Council's grant will help the popular Entomica insectarium's transition to not-for-profit status, with an expected move from Mill Market to a new home at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. 

Dressed immaculately in white lab coats, the Entomica delegation asked for the cash as bridge financing to cover one full-time position and one year's rent at the bushplane museum.

Over the coming year, the insect-focused discovery centre is expected to flap out a pathway to financial stability.

"The Sault Ste. Marie Insectarium [SSMI] is the first science centre in Canada permitted to take exotic insects out of quarantine for community outreach," said Tom Vair, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services, in a report to City Council. 

"Today, the SSMI is working on creating nature-based therapy programs focused on improving youth mental health," Vair said.

Entomica Inc. was hatched as a for-profit corporation in December 2013, by John Dedes, an internationally known biologist, supervisor of the insect production and quarantine lab at Great Lakes Forestry Centre.

Initially part of the Destination North plan for developing the former St. Mary's Paper property, the original concept was for a world-class entomological science centre in the pulp tower.

When Riversedge Developments opened Mill Market in the old fish hatchery nearby in June 2014, it offered 1,000 square feet to Entomica for two months.

There, the insectarium quickly took off, exceeding all expectations and generating $30,000 in average annual revenues.

Riversedge became the wind under Entomica's wings, keeping the project aloft until December 2016, when it became clear that the bugs were flying better than Destination North's business plan.

At that point, founder Dedes and his board decided to seek not-for-profit status.

However, most funding agencies insist that applicants operate as a non-profit for one or two years before qualifying for grant assistance.

Entomica incorporated as the not-for-profit Sault Ste. Marie Insectarium in January of this year.

The two entities have operated all year in parallel.

At the end of this month, Entomica Inc. will be dissolved, and SSMI will continue operating under the Entomica brand.

As a not-for-profit, the insectarium's long-term plans include:

• an insect-themed indoor playground with carousel and a butterfly cafe
• a greenhouse for production of insect food
• a butterfly house and meditation garden
• nocturnal insect display
• a facility to mass-produce and sell butterflies and caterpillar kits for release at special events
• expanding outreach programs to schools and community events across Ontario
• establish youth and adult mental health programs using insects to reconnect with nature, in partnership with Algoma Family Services, Algoma Public Health and others