ipolitics.ca reported that Prince Edward County, right here in Southern Ontario, has become the first municipality in the country to ban (albeit temporarily) a controversial insecticide believed to be killing bees.

Let’s take a step back a minute to appreciate this. The article mentions that “Scientists estimate one-third of all plants and plant products eaten by humans depend on bee pollination”. Meanwhile, news of mass bee colony collapses and bee numbers drastically dwindling is now pretty common. The European Union has put a 2-year ban on the insecticides but Canada hasn’t followed suit. At least Canada has been forced to review a bunch of pesticides after being sued. Thank you, David Suzuki.

The irony is that farmers are being encouraged to plant seeds that aren’t coated with the insecticide but “an estimated 92 to 95 per cent of planted corn acres in Canada and the US are coated in neonicotinoids” aka the bee-killing insecticide. Thank you, Bayer.

I’ve blabbed on before about the possibility of a tipping point coming soon when it comes to awareness about the consequences of using fertilizers and pesticides. We can nudge that moment to come a little sooner just by starting to accept a not-so-perfect lawn. Meanwhile, we can all do our bit to help the hive-nots, those solo bees already in your garden and in need of shelter.

Photo: Courtesy of thephotoholic/FreeDigitalPhotos.net