Neighbor to Neighbor Creating Green Corridors safe for butterflies, pollinators and all living creatures, including us.
As you all know, monarch butterflies, as well as other pollinators, are in serious decline, on the precipice of disappearing. Our bees are dying at an unsustainable rate. The root cause of this is our overuse of herbicides in our gardens and on our lawns.
We all have a responsibility to try to avoid an impending ‘insect apocalypse’, a serious threat to our food production.
I ask your help in launching the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Initiative. It is simple. It is asking each person who has a garden, lawn, or window box, to please refrain from using herbicides for the following reasons:
- most herbicides contain glyphosate, which has been scientifically proven to be harmful to butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. It is also indicated as a carcinogen for humans.
- lawns use more herbicide per acre than Big Ag. People bring it in on the bottoms of their shoes. It stays in the house and on carpet for a year. Children and pets are adversely affected.
- dandelions are one of the earliest flowers for bees and butterflies besides being medicinal for them and us. Don’t call the lawn specialist who leaves so much poison behind that thousands of bees can be found dead in the wake of their applications.
- by using compost not only do you save on landfill, spreading ½ inch compost on your land absorbs an enormous amounts of carbon, thus helping with climate change. Your plants will be healthier.
- go native. Buy plants appropriate to your area. Native plants & trees will require less work and less watering. Ask before you buy any plant whether it has been treated and with what. The big box stores are phasing out neonicitinoids, an herbicide applied to seeds that is then found in every cell of a plant. It is deadly to bees, butterflies, and other living creatures. Lowe’s has removed 81% of treated plants and Home Depot won’t say. Ask. Go to more local garden centers. Please – otherwise you are inviting the pollinators to their deaths.
I ask that you help spread word. Each one teach one. I hope to establish a designated google map site where each person could just easily enter the location of their garden. Then we could all see where safe corridors are being created and/or seeing what is needed to complete various corridors safe for all wildlife. More information to follow.
Many thanks for doing your part.
Maraleen