Sask. woman who got cited for tall plants in pollinator garden says bylaw should change
CBC
A Saskatoon resident thought it was a good idea to replace her front lawn with a pollinator garden, which she calls a more environmentally friendly alternative, but the city wasn't on board with her plans.
Pooja Bansal had to pull some plants from her front yard garden after city officials said they did not comply with city bylaws regarding their heights. Bansal is questioning the bylaws, saying the transformation has only changed her garden for the good.
"[Previously] it wasn't giving back to the community, not creating biodiversity, and also used a lot of pesticides to kill native plants and species. So we wanted to give back and increase that biodiversity."
A pollinator garden is one with a variety of plants attractive to butterflies, bees and other pollinators. As a part of the switch, Bansal has planted some 120 new plants in her front lawn and she hopes to double that number.
She said her garden has saved water and attracted more bees.
Then city officials showed up at her front door and asked her to trim some plants.
"I was really surprised because [the officer] came back two to three times to check whether we had cut it down. He was using his time to actually monitor the weeds and the growth," she said.
The city's bylaw on Property Maintenance and Nuisance Abatement dictates that land is not to be overgrown with grass and weeds in excess of 20 centimetres.
In addition, the provincial Weed Control Act empowers municipalities to enforce the eradication, containment or control of prohibited, noxious and nuisance weeds.
However, the laws have an exception: intentionally planted vegetation such as shrubs, perennials or a vegetable garden are not considered a violation, even if the height exceeds the limit.
Pollinator Paradise YXE is a group working to bring back native plants and wildlife to Saskatoon under a project called Wild About Saskatoon. In the last two years, it has managed to register more than a hundred pollinator gardens in the city.
Candace Savage, chair of Wild About Saskatoon, says her community members haven't run into this kind of a problem yet, but that pollinator gardens might attract attention because of how they look.
Savage said it's important to start slow and accommodate neighbours.
"It's important to make your intentions clear because your garden, especially if it's in the front yard, is going to look a little different than what people are used to."
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
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