“Reproduction for about 90 per cent of flowering plant species depends on pollinators, from bees and butterflies to hummingbirds and bats. We have pollinators to thank for one of every three bites of food we eat. Sadly, threats like development, pesticides and climate change are dramatically reducing pollinator diversity and numbers. A 2016 UN report found 40 per cent of all insect pollinators worldwide are under threat. More than 50 butterfly and moth species and a quarter of all bumblebee species in North America are threatened, and six species of native bees await protection under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.”
Finally, enlightened and dedicated humans are working to restore pollinator paths and bumblebee highways in support of nature and our food system. See: Butterflyways blooming throughout the land.
I bought organic Milkweed seeds from a local farm and planted seedlings this spring in our yard. Coming together, concerned citizens are restoring critical habitat areas. Good idea:
Residents of Toronto and Richmond, B.C., recently celebrated official designation of neighbourhood Butterflyways… recruiting more than 150 residents in five Canadian cities as the first Butterflyway Rangers. These volunteers learned how to help local pollinators flourish. They returned to their neighbourhoods with a mission: create a local Butterflyway by planting at least a dozen pollinator patches filled with native wildflowers that support these essential critters…What happened next is inspiring.
