Letter to Ontario Legislators June , 2023
Hello Mr. Downey,
We connected at Lampman’s Garden Party.
I was quite pleased to see that you took the time to participate in this annual
community event.
At the time I mentioned to you my profound concern about the global decline of our
precious pollinators.
It is hard to fathom that our health, well being, and our future existence here on Earth
is dependent on tiny insignificant- looking, sometimes annoying insects, flitting from flower to flower.
These pollinators and others have a special niche and a specialized role to play.
They are all connected with all other species in the fragile web of life.
The value and importance of each strand may not be obvious until it is destroyed.
The extinction of one species can ripple right through the web of life and negatively
impact the health and well being of all of us.
We need those pollinators as they pollinate one third mouthful of all the food we eat, including meat.
Since bees are especially attracted to the colours yellow, and white ox-eye daisies are
like a magnets for bees.
Growing en masse along roadsides and other naturalized areas are countless ox-eye
daisies.
Experts actually consider the ox-eye daisies here in North America as one of the most
important plants for pollinators.
Not only do ox-eye daisies attract bees, but they also attract other pollinators such
as moths and beetles.
So where can we find native and naturalized plants growing freely and abundantly?
Right here in ON we have 270, 000 km of roadsides brimming with food sources
for pollinators right through the summer.
All the municipalities have to do is stop mowing or mow strategically and stop
using pesticides etc.
If the townships eliminated their regular, widespread mowing, not only will
there be more opportunities for pollinators to feed on readily available food
sources, but there will be a significant reduction of GHG when the use of mowers is reduced.
Growing Forward 2 – Managing, Enhancing, Restoring Pollinator Habitats Along
Ontario’s Roadsides is a federal-provincial-territorial initiative in Partnership with
Pollinator Partnership Canada, which outlines in great detail and with specific
examples how townships can help our precious pollinators to survive and thrive.
I am urging YOU , Mr. Downey and your government to work /urge township and all
the stakeholders to form a committee that will address these serious concerns and
develop a bold master plan where all the public areas that can be naturalized are
identified along with solutions for increasing naturalization.
Gwen Petreman
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