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Mono Council approves pollinator reserve without requested grant

May 26, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Written By: Jasen Obermeyer

Despite rejecting a $20,000 grant proposal for a Pollinator Reserve at a Hockley property, Mono Council has agreed to continue the project with $5000 the Town previously set aside.

Councillors Ralph Manktelow and Sharon Martin brought the original proposal before council last December, after it failed to win approval for the Land Stewardship and Habitat Restoration (MNRF) Grant Program.

Councillor Manktelow said they expect the project to have a total budget of $8000. “We’re looking for donations for approximately $3000 in the following year.”

The one-acre reserve will take a number of years to complete, which Councillor Manktelow said would be in stages. “The first process will be this summer, where we’ll be preparing the land, and this will involve cultivating it with disks and various equipment.”

Councillor Martin said Mono Public Works is helping with the ongoing process and community members are giving advice on what to plant first after cultivating. “There’s really not a lot to do at the moment, but if anybody really wants to get involved, we’d certainly be happy to have them.” She added that if things go well, they could get some seeding done in the fall.

Councillor Manktelow said the reserve would not only contain plants for pollinators, but also have an educational value. “We’ll have a number of plaques with educational material. I think that’s probably the biggest contribution that we can do is to make people aware of the value of pollinators, what you can do to help them, what things are harmful.”

Although the project’s scale won’t be as big as originally planned, Councillor Martin said they’re going ahead with what they’ve got. “You just get busy and find another way to do it.”

Councillor Manktelow added he is delighted with the ability to move forward. “I think it’ll be a very pleasant addition to the landscape of Mono and Orangeville.”

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