Good things happened in 2024!
Restorationists, conservationists and volunteers have been hard at work, restoring biodiversity and fighting against invasive species. Here are a few highlights of the good work done!
Milkweed seeds, ready to start the next generation. ©A.Brennan
Caledon, Ontario’s successful Invasive Species Program
In 2021, the southern Ontario town of Caledon was suffering from an outbreak of spongy moth caterpillars, an invasive species that wreaks havoc on trees and forests, and can be rather unpleasant for residents as well. This outbreak prompted the creation of the Town’s first Invasive Species Program, led by coordinator Jody Elchyshyn.
Spongy moth fact sheet. Source: ©2024 Invasive Species Centre
With goals of managing the current population and planning for future infestations, the team raised community awareness through social media campaigns, shared information with residents and offered a simple way to report sightings. In 2022, their fight against the infestation took a multifaceted approach, including methods such as burlapping, egg scraping, and installing sticky barriers. By 2023, success was evident as spongy moth populations declined.
This opened the door for other opportunities in the fight against invasive species - the team began working on a monitoring program to detect nearby insect threats hemlock woolly adelgid and spotted lanternfly, and with assistance from Credit Valley Conservation, started a plant inventory at the Caledon Trailway. There are now thousands of trees being monitored for insect invasions, and 13 priority invasive plant species that have been identified on the Trailway.
In 2024, the team kept their momentum going and expanded the plant inventory to Town-owned roadsides and parks. With community awareness, education and involvement at the forefront of what they do, they have the whole town behind them, working together on the fight against invasive species. What a great model - one that every town and city needs to embrace in order to restore balance to our ecosystems.
ALUS brings species-at-risk awareness to farms and assists in the conservation of hundreds of acres of agricultural land in Quebec
ALUS is a charitable organization that works with farmers and ranchers across Canada to restore biodiversity through nature-based solutions. Farmers on more than 52,000 acres of agricultural land across Canada, and an expanding network in Quebec, are working with ALUS on projects such as restoring wetlands, installing riparian buffers, planting windbreaks, creating pollinator habitat - that deliver ecosystem services like cleaner air and water, erosion control, carbon sequestration, flood and drought mitigation, and pollinator and wildlife habitat. Farmers get to see firsthand how these ecosystem services work to help increase crop yields, by building and retaining soil and increasing pollination efficiency.
A campaign in Quebec is focusing on species-at-risk that will benefit from protection on agricultural land. Some of the species included on this list are the barn swallow, eastern meadowlark, golden-winged warbler, rusty-patched bumblebee, monarch butterfly and wood turtle. By raising awareness and providing simple solutions, many farmers are now on board and have started to implement changes to their practices, such as delaying haying, installing wide riparian buffers and preserving old buildings for nesting habitat. One farm in the Montérégie area planted over 3,100 shrubs along more than 2.3 km of hay fields, providing vital habitat for golden-winged and blue-winged warblers that breed in the area - showing that every acre plays a crucial role in the conservation of species-at-risk!
The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign awarded the 2024 Farmer and Rancher Award to Quebec farmers Paul and Pierre Caplette of Céréales Bellevue in Saint Robert. Since 2017, they’ve been working with ALUS and have added 25 acres of projects to their crop farm. Projects include installing nesting boxes for tree swallows, eastern bluebirds and bats, planting over 1,200 trees and 5,000 fruiting shrubs, and expanding the riparian buffer from the provincial recommendation of 3 metres, to a much more biodiverse 10 metres. They also protect soil microorganisms during the winter through cover cropping. As a result of their efforts, they’ve reduced their emissions, pesticide and fertilizer use and are on track to becoming carbon neutral in the coming years. Their land has also seen a significant increase in biodiversity - from soil microorganisms and pollinators to birds and frogs.
The collaboration between ALUS and farmers across Canada demonstrates how sustainable farming practices can restore biodiversity, enhance ecosystems, and improve farm productivity, offering an inspiring model for others to follow.
Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library hands out thousands of native seeds across the city
After reflecting on biodiversity loss, Indigenous reconciliation, and the lack of access to and knowledge about native plants in the world of horticulture, Melanie Ouellette knew she had to take action. In 2020, she started the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library (OWSL) which focuses on educating people about ecologically responsible gardening practices, provides free access to native plant seeds and encourages reciprocity through seed sharing. As Melanie put it on Facebook, “Rebuilding ecosystems one seed at a time”. The OWSL has since grown to almost 7,000 members in its Facebook community, and has hosted over 650 people at their fall/winter 2024 seed giveaway events, where they shared seeds from over 200 native plant species.
The model is simple, efficient and based on volunteer work and donations. People are encouraged to harvest seeds from their native plants (no cultivars allowed) and donate them to the library. The seeds are then packed into pre-made envelopes, affixed with official OWSL labels, and sorted into containers labeled with informative descriptions including growth habits and needs. In late fall and early winter, seed sharing events are held at various locations throughout the city, where people can help themselves to seed packets from these containers. Orders are also accepted online for mail distribution. Growers are encouraged to follow the natural cycle and sow many of their seeds over the winter months, as most seeds require a cold period to germinate. Detailed instructions are available on the website, YouTube channel, social media posts and at hands-on demonstrations during events. Seedling swap events are held throughout the spring and summer, though donations are not required to receive seedlings, since the goal is to lower the barriers to and spread knowledge and awareness of native plant gardening.
Through careful planning, dozens of volunteers and a lot of good intention, the OWSL has made a significant impact on the ecosystems of the Ottawa area. As Melanie Ouellette said in a Facebook post, “Good things happen when caring people work together”.
All first year plants that can be started by seeds provided by the OWSL. ©A.Brennan
Wildlife Preservation Canada’s Bumble Bee Conservation Lab works toward the recovery of the yellow-banded bumble bee
Bumble bees are globally threatened, with many species already classified as at-risk or endangered. This decline affects many of the 46 species found in Canada, such as the yellow-banded (Bombus terricola) and rusty-patched (B. affinis) bumble bees.
Canadian bumble bees all follow a similar annual life cycle; in the spring, the queen emerges from her overwintering burrow, forages for food to support the future colony and searches for a new nesting site. Workers emerge in the summer, while the queen cares for larvae and continues to lay eggs. As fall approaches, the queen shifts her focus to producing males and new queens who leave the nest to mate. Before winter begins, the newly mated queens (or gynes) find insulated shelters for overwintering, surviving on nectar pots until spring, while the males and original queen die. While this cycle is common to all bumble bees, each species has unique traits, such as varying emergence times in the spring to align with the flowering of their preferred plants, or differing tongue lengths that allow them to access the nectar from their preferred flower shape. These adaptations are the result of millions of years of co-evolution.
The Bumble Bee Conservation Lab, developed by Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC), aims to breed and release bumble bees to save them from extinction. Their primary focus is on the recovery of the yellow-banded bumble bee, whose population plummeted by 35% over 10 years, leading to its classification as a species of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). After selecting queens and bringing them back to the lab, the team provides the food, temperature, humidity and cleanliness levels to ensure optimal health and reproduction. They set up various mating enclosures with different combinations of individuals before moving the gynes to colder temperatures for overwintering.
In addition to lab work, the team also recommends ways that everyone can help. Citizen science plays an invaluable role in studying species populations; there are only so many scientists that can get out into the field and observe bumble bees, but the public can easily snap photos of bees and upload sightings to bumblebeewatch.org, contributing to long-term datasets and locating any rare or at-risk populations. WPC also recommends planting native flowering plants to feed the bees. Whether you have a balcony or an acreage, any amount of nectar acts like a truck stop for hungry bees, supporting them on their journey. Offering plants that bloom throughout the growing season will support the most bees, with particular attention to spring blooms that will support queens as they build the next generation. We can also help by offering to house the bees; providing habitat such as woody debris, small rock piles, undisturbed areas and an unraked leaf layer.
If the WPC lab continues to succeed, they will be able to replicate this model to help recover other struggling bumble bee species. In the meantime, we can support future generations by participating in citizen science and ensuring that bumble bees have access to ample food and suitable habitats.
Luckily, tri-coloured (Bombus ternarius - bottom) and common eastern (B. impatiens - top) are still common bumble bees species, but they too will benefit from the addition of native floral resources. ©A.Brennan
Despite the many challenges facing our planet, there is also a great deal of hope to be found in the efforts of those working to make positive change. This is just a small sample of the incredible work happening around us.
Contact us to see how you can get involved with good work on your own land!
Resources:
ALUS - Paul Caplette wins NAPPC’s Canadian Agricultural Producer Award
ALUS - Species-at-risk in Quebec
COSEWIC - Assessment and Status Report on the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee
COSEWIC - Species-at-risk Public Registry
Credit Valley Conservation: Invasive Species
Invasive Species Centre: Spongy Moth
Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library - Welcome Page
Pollinator Partnership - Bumble Bees of the Eastern United States
Town of Caledon - Invasive Species Program
Wildlife Preservation Canada - A Flower Patch for the Rusty-Patched
Wildlife Preservation Canada - Bumble Bee Conservation Lab