Some days, environmentalist Matt Thomson feels like a one-man army protecting the environment.
Born and raised in Orillia, Thomson said he's seen changes in nature around him for the worse.
“I've lived in this area my whole life and some of these changes are not fun to watch. We are not seeing the same butterflies every year. We are not seeing the same bees every year," he said.
In addition, important habitat like wetlands are being developed and urbanization is expanding, squeezing wildlife into smaller and more isolated habitats.
"We have this trend that it's OK to fill in these spaces and build on top of them," Thomson said.
The even sadder part is "nobody has the ability to save them," he added, because environmental regulations have been weakened in the past several years to make more spaces open to development.
"Even where you have provincially significant wetlands that have been assessed, the information is just being ignored."
Also, climate change is stressing wildlife with hotter temperatures and more violent storms.
"I've heard that bumblebees get stressed by heat and get driven farther north, but there can be less resources for them further north, compared to this region," he said.
On top of that, "a lot of people aren't really noticing these changes," he said.
"I want to be a part of being able to conserve and protect some of these things. It's a passion for me."
Thomson's latest project has been the planting of native species in four garden beds at the Orillia Waterfront Centre by the locust trees. It was formerly just grass and wood chips.
It's his first project with the City of Orillia. Providing the plants and helping with the design were staff from Parklane Landscapes, which specializes in promoting native species.
Owner Cassie Zalewski said people are under the impression native plants aren't as attractive as annuals, but they are, and they have benefits for both gardeners and pollinators.
"Our goal is to re-educate people how native plants are not only good for the environment but they are beautiful. They add esthetic appeal to the garden and also bring biodiversity to the space," she said.
The waterfront garden features a variety of native plants including echinacea, wild geranium, and sedge grasses in a visually appealing layout. The next step is to add signs to help people identify the plants.
Now that the city has changed its bylaw to allow naturalized spaces in front yards as well as grass, this garden is important because it shows people how a naturalized garden can be done, said Zalewski.
The benefit to the gardener is that native plants don't need the fertilizer and the heavy watering that lawn does, and native plant gardens absorb more rainwater than does grass, so there is less run off into storm sewers.
"I've been approaching the city and trying to convince them to make things easier for themselves," said Thomson. "Perennial gardens are lower maintenance in the long run."
Orillia has lots of garden spaces around the city. Revitalizing them with native perennials makes them easier to care for while maintaining biodiversity of pollinator species, he said.
Thomson has been involved in planting vegetables and native plant species at parks and schools across Orillia and Severn Township, and even a pipeline corridor off Division Road.
"I always count on volunteers to help with these things, and the more we can do, the more impact we can have in the community," he said.
Thomson also studies butterflies and bees and reports his findings to a variety of citizen science organizations including the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the David Suzuki Foundation.
"I think Matt is awesome. We need more Matts," said Zalewski.
More information is available on Thomson's Facebook page, Ardtrea Nature.
