Leave wildflowers for birds and bees

Editor:

Let me compliment the Town of Wasaga Beach on the beautiful gardens and green spaces that are throughout the area.

My concern is with the cutting of equally beautiful and beneficial natural areas of the town. For example, Veterans Way to Klondike Park Road. The grassed area along either side of this road are abundant in natural wildflowers. Ox-eye daisy, Black-eyed Susan, Goldenrod, Asters, Milkweed and the beautiful orange butterfly weed, which doesn’t grow just anywhere but it was in abundance along Veterans Way across from the Sports Park at the Provincial Park boundary.

In 2022 the area was absolutely beautiful with multiple varieties of wildflowers. In 2023, for some reason, they were all mowed down. The area just looked like another lawn.

These wildflower areas are so necessary and so beneficial. They provide food and habitat for pollinators – butterflies, dragonflies, moths, etc…

They are also “eye candy” for people. As silly as that sounds, they calm people and replace stress, anger, sadness, etc… Mowing these areas seems to me to be counterproductive. I feel that the time, energy and resources could be better used.

Municipalities should reconsider their mowing practices. This is just one area. There are so many wildflowers that grow along the sides of roads that add beauty and are necessary and beneficial to pollinators and people.

Jill Matchett,

Wasaga Beach.