Gravenhurst is joining many other municipalities across the province in officially observing “No More May” this year.
At an April 28 Planning Council meeting, it was decided the Town would implement “No Mow May” on a voluntary basis and monitor it as a one-year pilot project.
By-laws related to lawn maintenance have been suspended until June 1. Residents may still mow their lawns if they wish.
Laura Thomas of Hidden Habitat, a native plant nursery in Kilworthy, spoke to council on April 18 about the need to do more than ‘No Mow May’ to support pollinators. She encouraged residents to stop spraying their lawns, mow grass gradually and to focus on planting native plants around properties, including shorelines.
However, Thomas also encouraged Council to strive towards becoming a designated Bee City. There are three overall, year-round goals for a Bee City:
–to create, maintain and/or improve pollinator habitat–to educate their community, employees and/or customers about the importance of pollinators.
–to celebrate pollinators during National Pollinator Week or at other times.
There are currently 39 cities and municipalities that have Bee City status, including Barrie, Peterborough, Oshawa and Toronto.
Last month, Mayor Heidi Lorenz put forth a motion that council look into the initiative. The goal of the initiative “aims to support crucial spring pollinators as they are seeking their first source of food, such as dandelions, found in spring.” It also helps further “the goal of preventing disturbance of over-wintering insects and amphibians that may be burrowed or hiding in lawns and to help increase food sources to pollinators.”
Council suggested it would be a good fit for Thomas to work with the Sustainability Committee in future. Thomas agreed to this suggestion. “I’m hopeful that through the Bee City designation process, we can thread together all of the existing pollinator-supporting projects in Gravenhurst as well as establish new goals and priorities.”
For more information on Bee Cities, visit https://beecitycanada.org/
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