 The Canadian Pollinator Conservation 2013: Next Steps meeting was held on April 10, 2013 at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Ontario. Over 85 people attended, including government agencies, land managers, NGOs, conservation authorities, industry representatives and academics, while many other individuals expressed their regret in being unable to attend.
The meeting was organized by Victoria MacPhail, Sheila Colla, Elaine Williams, and Jessica Steiner of Wildlife Preservation Canada, with support from Vicki Wojcik and Laurie Davies Adams of the Pollinator Report on the Canadian Pollinator Partnership and Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis of the Society for Conservation Biology – Toronto Chapter.
The purpose of this conference was to raise the profile of pollinator conservation and awareness efforts in Canada and to engage various stakeholders so that there is more support for pollinator work across the country. The overall objective was to build opportunity networks that can potentially increase partnerships, reduce duplication of efforts, and increase successful multi-partner projects funded by a variety of sources.
The need to create more pollinator habitat, particularly pollinator gardens, was the most commonly expressed next step, followed by collaboration and education. The lack of adequate funding, educational resources, and locally-sourced native plants were the major roadblocks identified, although several individuals shared resources that they have developed that may help others, and others offered to share their experiences with projects.
Policy and advocacy work were the areas of least interest expressed by attendees, but legal protection for pollinators was one of the next steps that were brought forward by multiple individuals. Indeed, without protection for pollinators, even with on-going restoration and outreach projects, pollinator conservation may not be successful in the long-term; thus there may be a need to develop materials to make it easier for others to advocate for pollinators and help affect policy.
See Attached files here:
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