Restoration Efforts and Opportunities for Involvement in ...Works/Nov+15+Restoration+Eff… · •Native pollinator-friendly plants are weakened by repetitive mowing ... improve pollinator

Restoration Efforts and Opportunities for Involvement in Pollinator Projects

Public Information Session

October 19, 2019

Michelle Vala

Vegetation Management Intern

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What is the long term goal?

To improve and maintain diverse pollinator habitat in the roadsides

1. Controlling invasive plants that negatively impact pollinator habitat

2. Once invasive plants are controlled, the restore habitat for pollinators

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2015 2016 2017 2018

Km

Years

Mowing (Km) from 2015 to 2018

Habitat Restoration: Reduced Mowing

• Native pollinator-friendly plants are weakened by repetitive mowing

• Reducing mowing, allows native plants to reseed into road allowances and reemergence of plants in the seed bank

Habitat Restoration: Pollinator Patches

• Two pollinator patches were created on Lanark County property in 2017

• Over 25 native plant species were included to provide season-long habitat for all pollinators

• The plants continue to fill in the patch

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Habitat Restoration: Hydro seeding• Predominantly grass seed mixes are normally applied

to bare soil following disturbances from construction

• Lanark County consulted vegetation experts to improve the hydro seeding mix to include 12 pollinator supportive plants

• Promotes desirable, pollinator-friendly plants and prevent the growth of invasive plants

• GOAL: to continuously reseed disturbed areas to improve pollinator habitat across the County

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Habitat Restoration: Roadside Planting

• From 2017 to 2019, over 1000 pollinator-friendly plants have been planted in Lanark County’s pollinator network

• Planting plugs in the roadsides provides pollinator-friendly plants with a better chance of survival

• More resources required to plant, and smaller scale

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Habitat Restoration: Native Seeds

• In 2019, Lanark County purchased 28 KG of native wildflower seeds from St. William’s Nursery and Ontario Seed Company

• 19 native grasses and wildflowers in mix

• County staff reseeding disturbed soil following wild parsnip removals on 124 km of roads

• Native seeds help rehabilitate roads following wild parsnip eradication by out-competing wild parsnip and adding diverse pollinator habitat

• Seed mix will be used to seed the pollinator patch today

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Habitat Restoration: Projects

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• The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) launched a Monarch butterfly recovery project in Eastern Ontario

• Testing whether the creation of native meadows along roadsides and rights-of-way could successfully control Wild Parsnip, restore Monarch butterfly habitat and reduce management costs

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Monarch Habitat Restoration

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1 4 6 8 9 10 12 14 15 16 17 20 21 24 29 43 511

Avg

. # o

f p

lan

t sp

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County Road (Number)

Average of Number of Flowering Nectar Plant Species Along Roadsides in 2019

Average (2019): 11 species

Average (2017): 5.4 species

Mayors’ Monarch Pledge

• A tri-national program created by the U.S. National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

• Communities can commit to create monarch habitat and engage their residents in educational and conservation projects

• Participating municipalities are asked to complete actions from the NWF’s list

• Cities and municipalities all over Canada, the US and Mexico are taking action to help the monarch butterfly

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Mayors’ Monarch PledgeLanark County proclaimed June 26, 2019 as Mayors’

Monarch Pledge day

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NAPPC 2019 Pollinator Roadside Managers Award

• In recognition of Lanark County’s efforts to implement an integrated vegetation management plan with long-term goals for pollinators, Lanark County was the very first in Canada to receive the Pollinator Roadside Managers Award for Counties from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC)

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What can you do to help pollinators?

• Encourage pollinator habitat on your own property

– Reduce mowing where you can and allow those areas to naturally regenerate

– Foster the desirable vegetation, control invasive plants

• Plant native wildflowers

• Seed your own pollinator patches

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How can you get involved?

Adopt-A-Bridge

• Lanark County is looking for groups interested in adopting a bridge

• Objectives are to improve litter collection, invasive plant and noxious weed management, and restore native pollinator habitat around bridges

• Next year the goal is to provide groups with seeds and/or plants to help rehabilitate the area

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How can you get involved?

Create a pollinator patch by seeding a County road allowance near your property• Add native seeds to disturbed

soils after wild parsnip removal to out-compete the wild parsnip and improve diversity

• Prepare a patch of soil and seed with the native seeds (more information on how to create your own pollinator patch in the workshop)

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Pick up a bag today!

How can you get involved?

Volunteer to help with pollinator projects

• Join us today during the workshop

• Sign up as a volunteer to help with future pollinator projects (feedback form)

• Let us know if you have ideas for pollinator projects (seed collections, building bee boxes, planting pollinator patches)

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Thank you!

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