■ Dandelions should be seen as ideal for pollinators

To the Editor,

Re: The time of year where we start to do battle with weeds (Observer, May 7/20).

I was sending up wishes for warmer weather on the cold windy afternoon when I read this last editorial.

Researchers have learned that our pollinator populations are collapsing. We might see the dandelion flower in a new light when we recall that dandelions are the first food for bees after a long winter. Imagine awakening, hours from starvation, to a field of protein and glucose, to a lawn of blossoms laden with pollen and nectar.

When COVID-19 began, we didn’t really know that every one of us is totally dependent for life upon grocery workers and PSWs. Our food supply has a great dependency, too: on insects and pollinators. So, when we see taller, grassy boulevards, we could learn to give thanks for habitat for the insects, upon whom we depend.

I hope the townships will plant more of these grasses, reducing the expense of mowing, and increasing crop production in home/ farm gardens. Once established, with grasses and wildflowers blooming all season long, these areas will be beautiful mini-meadows, instead of mowed, pollinator deserts.

The slogan could be: Woolwich/Wellesley shifting priorities – creating pollinator pathways.

Over the last two months, our educated, scientific, high-tech civilization has daily demonstrated that we can learn and adapt. Maybe we could mow as the dandelions finish up blooming?