Hon. Glenn Thibeault …

Hon. Glenn Thibeault

Minister of Energy

4th Floor, Hearst Block

900 Bay St.

Toronto, Ontario

M7A 2E1

Dear Mr. Thiebeault,

As founder of the Butterfly Gardens of Saugeen Shores (BGOSS), I am sending this letter to you on behalf of our organizations support for Bruce Power and their role in Ontario’s Long Term Energy Plan.

Who we are:

Butterfly Gardens of Saugeen Shores (BGOSS), is a volunteer community organization whose mandate is to care for and protect Monarch Butterflies and pollinators. Monarch butterflies are a species of special concern because of habitat loss, misinformation about their host plant; milkweed, deforestation and the extensive use of herbicides throughout Canada and the United States. BGOSS began in 2015 to assist Monarchs by planting native plants in select pods throughout our community.

Our mandate has 3 guiding principles:

•provide a food source for Monarchs and other pollinators

•enhance the visitors experience in Saugeen Shores

•educate people on the plight of Monarch butterflies and native gardening

Like many community organizations, BGOSS had a vision to better its community, help a species at risk and to engage people in its activities. We gained early support from the town, a service club and a provincial park friends group. Then, along came Bruce Power who listened to our ideas and liked our attention to environmental stewardship. The support and partnership of Bruce Power, allowed our organization to fulfill its mandate financially and to accomplish its purpose in a more timely fashion.

What we have accomplished:

In the spring of 2015, the Butterfly Gardens of Saugeen Shores, with 60 volunteers, planted over 1,400 plants in a series of 13 pods throughout Saugeen Shores. The largest pods are along the Lake Huron shoreline in the newly created Captain Spence Path in Southampton. Other pods are located at: Saugeen First Nation, MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Perkins Park, and the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre. All of these pods have been certified and registered as Monarch Way Stations. With the support of Bruce Power we were able to create social media and marketing materials to help inform and educate the public about our role in protecting the environment in Saugeen Shores. Bruce Power was also instrumental in partnering with BGOSS to allow us to attend local school Earth Day events. At these events we were able to share with school children the importance of planting native plants.

In the fall of 2015 BGOSS conducted several Monarch tagging days. These were open events for the community to attend. Bruce Power employees participated in these events and helped us during our week long planting in the spring.

In 2016, our second year of operation, we were greeted with news that one of our tagged Monarchs (from the fall of 2015), was recovered in Mexico, -- a distance of over 5,000 km and some 5 months later. Bruce Power once again showed their commitment toward our community and the environment by actively supporting our new plantings, and sponsoring our educational communication materials. BGOSS created 3 new pods along the Saugeen Rail Trail and created professional signage at each pod with an accompanying map on our web site. We developed a model for community engagement by training 35 volunteers to become Pod Squad Ambassadors.  Our Pod Squad Ambassadors became land stewards for each of our 17 pods. Collectively, they amassed more than 2,500 hours of community engagement by planting plants, maintaining our pods, educating the public and assisting in our programs.

Another highlight was the installation of a mural at Perkins Park in Southampton. This mural, created in partnership with Southampton Rotary and the Southampton Art Centre, depicts the life cycle of the Monarch and its north and south migratory routes. To further promote BGOSS, Bruce Power submitted photos and write-ups on our initiatives for the 2016 and 2017 Wildlife Habitat Councils’ desktop calendar.

Value to Community:

Bruce Power has effectively communicated with BGOSS throughout our 2 years of operations. They genuinely care and they want to know how they can help. We found this approach refreshing. They don’t just hand out grant money to worthy community organizations. They have rolled up their sleeves and assisted Butterfly Gardens of Saugeen Shores with maintenance and planting of native plants, they attended our meetings, shared their resources with us and have truly cared about our purpose and its value to the community. They have indeed embraced the concept of community: working together to create a better place for people to live and work in. We learned early on in our partnership with Bruce Power, that they care about the environment, -- not only locally in Bruce County, but, in our situation, throughout North America, as the plight of the Monarch Butterflies is a continental issue.

With the assistance of Bruce Power, our dedicated volunteers and partners, Butterfly Gardens of Saugeen Shores believes that we can make a difference in the lives of the Monarch butterflies.

Please accept this letter of support for Bruce Power and their role in Ontario’s Long Term Energy Plan.

Sincerely,

Butterfly Gardens of Saugeen Shores

[Original Comment ID: 206611]