Grass on city medians, road sides and verges is difficult to maintain without costly mowing or pesticides. Far too often we end up with unsightly patches of dirt and weeds. Meanwhile, bees and other pollinators are in serious trouble due to loss of habitat and those very same pesticides.

Projects around the world have shown we can protect habitat, support our pollinators, reduce taxpayer costs and beautify our cities by planting native wildflowers in these hard to maintain areas.

“This photograph was posted by the British Beekeeping Association and gives one example of what can be done. This is Rotherham where the municipal council planted 8 miles of wild flower verges. It has saved them $ 25k in annual mowing costs!

The City of Ottawa is a bee friendly city! We too could implement techniques that over time would have our city roads looking just as terrific as Rotherham and help save our bees and other pollinators. Help us persuade City Council to come up with alternative plantings!

Sign this petition if you want Ottawa to BeeSmart and BeeFriendly! #SaveOurBees