Growing wildflowers instead of grass beneficial for pollinators: biologist

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 times each day and creates a third of our food. It also sustains the native plants and habitats on which humans and wildlife depend.

Across North America, populations of the iconic Monarch Butterfly are in steep decline. The brilliantly-coloured Monarch is a summer breeder in many areas of southern Canada, and most Canadian-born adults head to the highlands of central Mexico to overwinter. It takes four to five generations of Monarchs to make it to Canada during the spring migration. In 2016, the Committee for the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) listed the Monarch Butterfly as Endangered.