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Grow It! Don't Mow It!

cwf-fcf.org > English > What We Do > Pollinators > Grow It! Don't Mow It!
  • Pollinators
  • Grow It! Don't Mow It!
  • Information for Rights-of-Way Managers
  • Information for Home & Property Owners

Background

Pollinators — bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles and hummingbirds — are a diverse group of animals that support our economy and our environment. These unsung heroes of the natural world are declining, both in numbers of species and in numbers of individual animals. Multiple threats appear to be causing these declines, including habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and disease. To reverse current trends, immediate changes to land use are necessary at a large scale. Transforming our approach to land management will make a big difference.

Canada’s network of rights-of-way — roadsides, power corridors, transmission lines and pipelines — are often mown and sprayed with pesticides throughout the growing season. While our eyes have become accustomed to the uniformity of these lawn features, they displace habitat for pollinating insects and wildlife. Clipped non-native grasses do not provide the food and shelter that pollinators need.

There is opportunity here! Working landscapes in the U.S. and U.K. are being converted to wildflower meadows, helping pollinator populations recover. Canada can do the same. Lawns in our urban parklands and private backyards also offer an opportunity to give space back to the plant and animal populations that came before us.

As land stewards, we can choose to invite life back into our neighbourhoods and rights-of-way corridors.

bee on pink flower

Did You Know?

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1.4M
Canada alone is home to 1.4 million kilometres of roads! That’s an immense opportunity for pollinator habitats!
butterfly icon
80%
Monarch Butterfly migration has dropped 80 per cent in the last 20 years.
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14,400
There are about 6.2 million lawns in Canada. Converting just one-quarter of each lawn would equal around 14,400 hectares of habitat for pollinators.

Program Overview

CWF aims to address the decline of pollinators worldwide. We are working in collaboration with agricultural producers and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to learn how to design farms to maximize wild pollinators and pollination services. The first step is to find the answer to the question: What composition and configuration of natural features supports wild pollinators on farmland? We are collecting pollinator insects along hedgerows, forests and wildflower margins to determine which of these habitats support the greatest abundance and diversity of wild pollinators. We will also investigate what combination of these natural habitats is best for supporting pollinators. The results of this research will inform land use decisions by farmers, as well as agricultural policy and programs. We are hopeful that our research will also inform the development of market incentives for farmers to restore pollinator habitat and minimize impacts of pesticides.

Join the Restoration Revolution

Transform rights-of-way and lawns into meadow habitat. Become part of the great Canadian pollinator pathway.

Every parcel of land counts. In harmony with the United Nations’ Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021 – 2030), the Canadian Wildlife Federation wants to partner with you to build interconnected wildflower meadow habitat across Canada — a Great Canadian Pollinator Pathway. Let’s restore wildflower meadow habitat along the migratory routes of pollinators like the Monarch.

manager icon Rights-of-Way Managers Resources
home icon Home & Property Owners Resources

I am making the pledge to help create The Great Canadian Pollinator Pathway:

Choose one of the following:

I am a property owner
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meadow flowers

Wildflower Meadows are Pollinator Bed & Breakfasts

How do pollinators benefit from unmown wildflower meadows? Meadows serve three important functions:

  1. BED: Undisturbed native wildflowers provide lodging and breeding grounds for countless pollinators — here are a couple of examples. Mason bees (Osmia sp.) lay their eggs in the long hollow stems of unmown plants. Monarch Butterflies lay their eggs on young milkweed plants in spring, and the hatched caterpillars feed on the leaves until they are ready to transform into butterflies. Plants left undisturbed, both in life and as dead stalks, are important for insects!
  2. BREAKFAST: In exchange for transferring pollen between plants, pollinators visit flowers to feed on the nectar gifts provided by the plants. Wildflower nectar is a major source of food for these animals.
  3. FUEL STATIONS: For migratory pollinators like Monarchs, interconnected corridors of wildflower meadows ensure they can ‘fill their tanks’ at regular intervals during their long journeys. Rights-of-way corridors and lawns, restored to wildflower meadow habitat, provide a travel corridor for migrating Monarchs.

Native Plants are Best

To ensure pollinators have the nutrition that nature intended, growing a diversity of native wildflowers that bloom throughout the growing season is ideal. Pollinating insects in Canada need fuel for three seasons of the year. Some insects have favourite plants; the more kinds of native wildflowers in the meadows…the more different kinds of pollinators you will invite back! Learn more about native plants.

swamp milkweed dew
meadow flowers

Added Benefits of Wildflower Meadows

Not only do native wildflower meadows provide habitat for pollinators, they serve important functions in our urban environments.

  • The roots of wildflowers are deeper than those of turf grasses and they absorb more rainwater, thereby reducing flooding
  • They sequester more carbon than turf lawns and can therefore help us reduce the impacts of climate change
  • They beautify our urban landscapes — native plants augment the regional natural heritage for visiting tourists and bring pleasure to residents
  • Research shows that people who live near nature and natural landscapes enjoy better health and wellness

What CWF is Doing

  • Building a network of rights-of-way managers for sharing resources and learning about pollinator habitat restoration
  • Piloting habitat restoration techniques in eastern Ontario with Hydro One, Lanark County and the National Capital Commission
  • Participating in discussions with Canada, the U.S., and Mexico and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation on a Pollinator Conservation Strategy for North America
sneezeweed

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Program Lead

Carolyn Callaghan, PhD

My work focuses on the conservation of species at risk in Canada. I am interested in understanding the factors that put species at risk and then determining how to reduce the impact of these factors to recover populations. My team and I look for compatibility with farming practices and business practices on roadways and rights-of-way with the recovery of species at risk.

“It is imperative that we invest in initiatives to reverse the effects that pesticides and habitat loss have had on our pollinators. Together, we can do something about it, and that is why planting a pollinator pathway across Canada and building a national monitoring program are key initiatives to stem the decline and build the numbers back up.”

Carolyn Callaghan

Information for Home & Property Owners

More than 50% of households in Canada have a yard, which means that 6.2 million home-owners could help make a difference for pollinators. If everyone set aside a portion of their lawn as pollinator habitat,...

Read More

Information for Rights-of-Way Managers

Goals of the CWF Monarch (and other Pollinators) Habitat Restoration program include:

Read More

Perpetuating Pollinators

Bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, hummingbirds and even small mammals are pollinators, meaning they carry pollen on their bodies and move it between flowers. This almost invisible act occurs millions of...

Read More
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