Written By Jan Sims
KOMOKA - The summer is in full bloom. And the Middlesex Pollinator Team welcomed people to learn about the importance of native plants and the role that insects play in maintaining our ecosystem, at an event outside the Komoka Community Centre.
The group welcomed Jennie Girard, who’s affectionately known as the Bee Lady, to Ethan’s Garden for a presentation about the role of bees, spiders and other insects in helping plants that are native to Middlesex Centre and elsewhere. “They’re extremely important because there’s a definite relationship between the two,” says Fowler. “I think most people are aware of our monarch butterfly being in peril… if there’s no milkweed there are no monarchs,” adds Fowler. In fact, with bees there are certain varieties, called specialist bees, that are only able to use certain flowers to collect pollen.
Those sentiments are echoed by Jennie Girard, who says it’s important to see insects as part of the ecosystem. “There’s a very small percentage of insects that are ‘bad eggs’. Most of them are really quite wonderful and really quite interesting, and great pollinators and great food for birds,” says Girard. She says the more we learn about insects, the more we will understand and appreciate them. “I’m crazy about spiders. Most people aren’t, but the more you learn about them, the more you see how important they are,” says Girard.
As well as learning about plants and insects, organizers hope people gained an appreciation of the role that nature plays in our lives. “It affects your serotonin levels and it’s going to make you feel better,” says Girard.
