Pollination Awareness Week

Monday, 24 November 2014 06:16

Two education sessions are being held in Ingersoll this week on the importance of pollinators in our environment.

INGERSOLL - The Ingersoll and District Nature Club is inviting the public to learn what can be done to stop the decline of pollinators as part of Oxford County Pollination Awareness Week.

Vice President and Program Coordinator for the Ingersoll District Nature Club, David Baird says this is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators to our environment and the danger that neonicotinoids present to the environment.

"The approach is to provide information or enlighten people as far as what's happening with pollination as it effects the food source and so one. It will give people an idea what is going on in nature with bees and so on."

A pair of town hall meetings have been set up where guest speakers George Scott of the Niagara Beeway and Patty Moss of the Niagara Park Butterfly Conservatory will lead education sessions.

Baird says this event isn't about pointing the finger and assigning blame. "It's more a prospective of trying to find a solution for everyone. Farmers, community, consumers that are out there -- we are all involved in it. We are all involved in trying to find a means to an end when it comes to this so we can preserve what's natural and at the same time provide what the public needs in terms of food."

Baird says the events are open to everyone.

"We hope to have as many people as possible to come out and listen to George Scott so they can really understand what is going on. A lot of times people are involved in so many other things that they don't really have a perspective as to what's going on when it comes to this type of thing so George will give them an opportunity to understand better."

The free town hall meetings are November 25 at the Woodstock Unifor Hall of November 26 at the Ingersoll Unifor Hall. Both sessions start at 7:00 pm. More information can be found at http://ingersollnatureclub.com/.