Nurturing Pollinators from the Soil to the Tree-tops: Pollination Guelph Symposium 2018

Wildbees' Display

"Keeping ‘corridors of connection’ is better for bees and better for seeds," Dr. Clement Kent of York University.
The Pollination Guelph Symposium 2018 rocked Team Pollinator Paradise Project to the core. Nurturing Pollinators from the Soil to the Tree-tops was the theme of this year's Symposium and they meant it.
​We heard from many speakers, including  Pollination Guelph's Victoria MacPhail who provided project updates, and York University's Dr. Clement Kent, whose presentation was called Using Genetics to help Bees, and Bees to help Ecosystem Genetics. Clement said that plant genetic diversity is more important than bee diversity. Point is, we want to avoid inbreeding amongst bee species. With habitat, the more seed set, the better chances for cross pollination.
Clement told us about his redbud tree that was flowering, but had no seeds. Turns out that his tree was the only redbud in the neighbourhood, so it wasn't until more redbuds came to the neighbourhood that the tree finally seeded. The lesson is that we need to up the density of plants, while also protecting pollinators. We need to keep up the genetic diversity of pollinators. Read on for some more coverage of the day!

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The Silvercreek Park Hydro Corridor Project

Plant List: The Silvercreek Park Hydro Corridor Project

"Diversity is Stability." Moritz Sanio, Trees for Guelph.
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​Making lemonade or What happened after the buckthorn was Gone: The Silvercreek Park Hydro Corridor Project was a joint presentation by Moritz Sanio (Trees for Guelph) and Lisa Mactaggart, OLA Arium Design Group.
So what happened when Hydro One cut the forest along the 4 acres, Silvercreek Park hydro corridor? The neighbours were upset. What they didn't know was the this "forest" was composed of mostly invasive buckthorn. Once they were educated on how undesirable buckthorn is, they recognized an opportunity to create biodiversity by planting native plant habitat! In the process, the neighbours strengthened their community cohesion and engagement, while gaining a meadow. 
 We learned from Moritz that planting in the spring is a European model that is not the useful for introducing a meadow. We need to follow the model that nature provides. In putting seed into the landscape, 6 to 7 inches apart is ideal. Put seeds down in the winter or late fall if you want the seeds to germinate in the winter, so that they can stratify. That is, stratification breaks seeds' dormancy and they come up on their own accord, "so be patient," Moritz advised. Snow is handy because you can actually see the seed! Be careful not to step on the tiny seedlings.
Planting day for the project was May, 2016 and you can read all about it, as well as the plants that were used, in the Milkweed Journal
In brief, the mix, they used contained the usual suspects--the asters, goldenrods and brown-eyed Susans. Then came the Big Bluestem, New Jersey tea, and plants such as Canada anemone and Wild Bergamon, which is great in the city. Indiangrass was also used. Moritz shared that Canadian Wild Rye, planted first, will secure the site for other wild flowers and the relinquish it to these other flowers.
"The native species bring in the pollinators. It begins with the insects, then other creatures will follow, the frogs, garter-snakes, and so on," Moritz said.
Now, there is an entire neighbourhood of folks whose backyards face the corridor that work together to keep the site maintained--watering it, and weeding. Hydro One continues to maintain it as a compliant site and the City of Guelph does the mowing.

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Guelph's Natural Heritage Action Plan:
​Implementation of Natural Hertiage andWatershed Planning Policies 

Draft of the NHAP

"It's about communication with Council!" ​Adèle Labbé, City of Guelph
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Adèle Labbé, City of Guelph​, Environmental Planner at the City of Guelph talked about Guelph's exceptional Natural Heritage Action Plan. It was so impressive that the Pollinator Paradise Team sat listening in awe and to be honest, despair. How can we ever hope to catch up to Guelph, we wondered? Guelph is well ahead of provincial standards for Natural Heritage and their new action plan will help Official Plan objectives become reality.
Adele explained to the audience how the city of Guelph plans to implement this on the ground. It used community input to help define major themes of the action plan and create more community engagement activities.
First, Adèle asked the room, "What is a Natural Heritage System (NHS) and who owns it?" We learned that  an NHS is all woodlots, wetlands, grasslands, wildlife habitat. In Guelph, 35% of it is owned by city, 25% owned by Grand River CA, 5% owned by province, 35% privately owned (includes 6% owned by University of Guelph).
There are 9 watersheds (tributaries of rivers) which are inclusive of ecological linkages identified (also agricultural fields to denaturalize) and restoration areas, parks and protection for species. "So we are looking after our local signature species," she said.
The action plans take into account, urban pressures, stormwater management, trapping and encroachment challenges, species range shifts, hydrological, less snowpack etc As well, "Guelph has deep roots in water management," Adèle said. "Taking some of our policies in the Official Plan (OP), Natural Heritage came into full effect. It took nearly 10 years to develop our policies." 

Implementing our NHAP Objectives from the Official Plan
The City of Guelph has set out its requirements for protecting natural heritage systems and water resources through the Official Plan. The objectives from the OP are also informing the NHAP, that is, the NHAP will action these policies. It will help to prioritize Guelph’s natural heritage goals and create an implementation plan for protecting  natural resources as part of complete healthy communities. Again, the plan will create a framework for the City’s OP policies specific to the natural heritage system and watershed planning.

From the online draft, "The NHAP will include the identification and development of recommendations, studies and guidelines to maintain enhance and restore natural heritage, surface water and ground water features in Guelph. This work will also identify and inform continuous improvement opportunities for development reviews that deal with environmental planning requirements."
City of Guelph has been working on the NHAP since it’s initiation in March of 2017. Through a scan of Official Plan policies and background documents ‘themes’ were developed to help organize and categorize actions.

The refined NHAP  includes 12 themes:

• Supporting sustainable development and urban ecosystems
• Restoring Urban Ecosystems to Support Biodiversity and Resilience
• Supporting Growth through Watershed Planning
• Environmental Monitoring to Support Science-Based Decision Making
• Understanding and Enhancing our Biodiversity
• Conservation Land Securement to Support Long-Term Preservation
• Plant and Wildlife Habitat Management in the Urban Setting
• Education, Outreach and Stewardship
• Engagement models for supporting implementation
• Streamlining Processes through Technical Manuals, Guidelines and Standards
• Improving Operational Procedures
• Data Management and Technology to Improve Efficiencies and Share Knowledge 

What is in the Action Plan? There are 36 action items in the following "pieces": 

1.Planning for Sustainability and Resilience. Ecological goods and services, storing the urban eco-system.
2. Watershed Planning and Development to maintain growth and infrastructure. actions to help implement and update our watershed plans. Unders the landscape of what is happening today.
3. Natural Heritage and Biodiversity Conservation. How we are going to manage these.
4.Fostering community support, raising awareness and engagement.
5.Continiuously improving Process and Practice and Policy
6. Date management and Technology (Guelph has a commitment to Open Source Data), how to keep it useful and sharing with the public.

Some Examples of the 36 Action Items include:
Restoration and management: Have goals to support pollinators and have meadow habitats within the city. The action plan items including mapping where meadows will be located as well as include the tree canopy for a balanced habitat. Action items include launching a citywide monitoring program (bees and birds in the city). other items will focus on data management, establishing an adopt a space program, and the natural areas and trails stewardship group will support the neighbour stewardship group with assistance from the city (ex encouraging the planting of pollinator gardens). 
Road ecology guidelines is another area of focus. Through the guidelines, the city of Guelph will "mainstream" ecological mitigation protecting the environment.
Quotes from Adèle: "We need everyone to have a stake in the plan.  We got council support to initiate the project in 2017. Collaboration is the basis of the project across the corporation. We scanned it all, conducted community surveys, carried out working sessions internally (with forestry, parks, engineering etc). We engaged our council. We held 3 ward tours and showed council the NHS they had in their wards. We held a "what nature means to me" campaign."

Adèle ended by saying, "We started a pollinator strategy, but then we realized that we shouldn't be specialists, we should care for all species, that is, biodiversity." She advised that council be engaged in workshops etc. "It's about communication with Council!"

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Casa Arboreal: The Important Role of Trees & Shrubs in the Lives of Pollinators 

Prickly Ash

"At the least, plant an oak," Sean Fox, University of Guelph.
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The keynote presentation was given by Sean Fox, The Arboretum at the University of Guelph.
​"We often forget that pollinators will use trees for nectar habitat," Sean started off the talk, showing us an image of monarchs on a tree. He asked us, "Where do things go at night? Where do they go when they are not active? where do they go for shelter, or when it is raining, or cold?" He answered, "They go underside of leaves, and in the nooks and crannies of bark."
Sean referenced Doug Tallamy: Oak trees provide for 534 different species are dependent on oaks to complete their life cycles. Bur Oak is native to the Guelph area.  We learned that there are many types of oaks: Red oak, White Oak, Pine Oak, Swamp Oak, Black Oak! 11 species of oak are native to Ontario. Oaks cover most environments. Black cherry is another queen for pollinators, its succulent leaves provide a nectar source for pollinators. Willows are great trees too--there are over 40 willows native to Ontario.

​Other trees include Hop tree and Prickly Ash. Spicebush is an early bloomer and is critical for pollinators in the spring. Spicebush and Sassafras attracts the swallowtail butterfly. Paw paw is the largest native fruit to Canada. Cucumber tree (magnolia) is tropical looking but is native. Forest fragmentation is the problem for this tree, there is not a lot of space for them to move, not a lot of habitat. "There are clearcuts right here in Ontario," Sean said. "We forget this and thing only about the amazon areas.  We don't thing of trees as moving, but they do." Trees move, they spread out, they migrate. 

What can you do? Sean advises us to do the following: Avoid invasives. Focus more on native plants, for example, Swamp Rose supports a lot of pollinator larvae. Service Berries are suitable for any situation in Hamilton. Witch Hazel blooms in Ontario, critical Sumac is fantastic for pollinators but aggressive. In the country, plant hedgerows and Prickly Ash. In the gardens, keep some dead wood about. Mix it up, have something blooming at different time of the year. 
In conclusion:
Remember: Trees are living infrastructure. They are part of the very first systems of infrastructure; the ones that engineering & public works have been trying to replicate for centuries. "Plant an oak at the very least," Sean concluded.

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