Making a difference: Shannon turns monoculture farm into a pollinators’ paradise

NAPPC recognize her tireless work

It’s easy to excuse Shannon McNally for being nervous when she accepted her award from NAPPC as Canada’s best Farmer-Rancher.

Afterall, accepting an award from experts in the field of pollination – professors, scientists and other highly educated seasoned professionals – is one thing, but when it’s the first award you can remember receiving since a 4th Grade fairness award, it’s a big deal.

Especially when you’re only in your 20s, have no formal education in the field and very little experience in farming.

As you can imagine, receiving a national award from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) and the Pollinator Partnership, is a VERY BIG deal.

Shannon and her partner, Justin, received the award for converting more than 33 hectares at White Church Farm of a monoculture soy and corn farm in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, into a pollinators’ paradise.

“It’s been five years ago now when I made the decision to join all of you who have been fighting for a greener future,” she said in her acceptance speech for the award.

“In 2017, Justin and I both quit our jobs to become first-generation farmers. At the time I was 23 years old with little experience or related formal education. My strengths relied entirely on my relentless passion for creating more space for nature and using the internet,” she explained.

“Caring was truly my biggest asset. I wanted to highlight that because I know that each and every one of you have that same strength too,” she said in a zoom call to an audience of co-award winners, organizers, professors and experts in the field.

Her passion for the environment and her dedication to making a difference in a natural world where climate change is threatening everything she cares so much for led her to take on the challenge.

Shannon McNally in one of the fields she works in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. Photo courtesy Shannon McNally.

“If I had waited until I felt confident enough, experienced enough or educated enough to start trying to make a difference, I would never have started. As a rookie in this community, I was constantly inspired by all of you and truly humbled to be in your company and to connect with you today,” Shannon said in her speech.

Since taking on the challenge, Shannon has been working hard to reshape the land with a plan for long-term biodiversity.

Bringing back nature

Each year, she works to restore large areas by planting permanent, native plant species including up to 30 trees and hundreds of perennial wildflowers. And that was just last year.

In addition, she has also planted more than 5 acres in permanent, mixed bee forage, created clover pathways around the farm, cultivated diverse, mature tree lines and hedgerows, and recently established a 2-acre permaculture orchard.

Each year, the farm grows a succession of sunflower fields for bee forage and bird seed and they plant a cover crop for pollinators.

“In this era of climate crisis, she explained in her acceptance speech, “we need everyone’s strength and contribution. Each of us has such an important role to play and we no longer have the luxury of time to get in our own way.

Her call to action did not go unnoticed by her peers at the NAPPC awards ceremony.

“NAPPC is thrilled to recognize Shannon McNally with the 2021 Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award,” says Dr. Lora Morandin, Research and Conservation Director at Pollinator Partnership.

“Shannon’s work to provide habitat for pollinators and support biodiversity on her farm is an excellent example of how growers can incorporate conservation within their production systems. Creating pollinator habitat also supports beneficial insects that control pest insects, which can reduce the need for chemical pest control. We hope that the work Shannon and other farmers are doing to help pollinators provides inspiration to others to find ways to support pollinators and other wildlife or their farm or in their yard.”

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign is a coalition group administered by Pollinator Partnership. NAPPC's mission is to encourage the health of resident and migratory pollinating animals in North America.

P2’s mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research. The Canadian arm of Pollinator Partnership (P2C) is a registered not-for-profit organization.

The organization is quick to point out that pollinators perform a nearly invisible ecosystem service that is a precious resource requiring attention and support. It adds that disturbing evidence found around the globe, shows that pollinators and the service they provide is increasingly in jeopardy.

Shannon is more than aware of the ever emerging deadline she and others face to not only slow the trend but to work hard to reverse the trend as quickly as possible.

Not unlike woodland gardeners toiling away to rewild their small urban or rural plot of land using native plants, trees and shrubs, Shannon also realizes that the work she is doing on the small farm is just one step in the solution.

Her work with Monarch butterflies this past year is an example of her commitment to helping wildlife and was one reason she was recognized by NAPPC.

Helping monarch butterflies through social media

“I really enjoy participating in conservation efforts, but often feel overwhelmed by wanting to help ALL of the at-risk and endangered species,” Shannon wrote to her Facebook followers earlier this year.

“I do as much as I can here, but I feel the biggest impact I have is through sharing on social media. The possibility of someone being inspired into action and the potential ripple effect that could have is what gets me the most excited,” Shannon explains.

“With so many disheartening headlines these days, finding joy in nature and cherishing the positive outcomes from even the smallest of actions is worth celebrating. My hope with sharing this is that you can feel the same joy I do when I watch these monarchs fly away after 5 1/2 weeks of attentive care.”

In the coming year, Shannon plans to restore a riparian area with native trees and shrubs as well as install a monarch-focused garden featuring three milkweed species.

The work she is planning on a monarch-focused garden follows her success this past year of raising 100s of monarchs from eggs and sharing her work with others through social media.

Plans are still in the works for next year but Shannon says her focus will be on creating habitat for other native species rather than any rearing and releasing monarchs.

“It was a wonderful, educational and inspiring experience this year and I'm excited to see what next year has in store.”

More NAPPC award winners

Some of the other 2021 Pollinator Award Winners included:

THE BEE CAUSE PROJECT

2021 NAPPC POLLINATOR ADVOCATE - UNITED STATES

This Charleston, SC based non-profit organization works to engage students of all ages within their own environments through observation-based learning. Ted Dennard, a lifelong beekeeper and the founder of Savannah Bee Company, and Tami Enright, a fellow beekeeper and environmental educator, have dedicated their lives to protecting pollinators, founding The Bee Cause Project and securing a national partnership with the Whole Kids Foundation. The organization solicits honey bee grant and observation hive program receives hundreds of schools’ participation applications annually, and more than 550 schools and organizations have received bee grants to date, impacting thousands of children across North America. They have also introduced digital hives as an alternative for schools or community centers that cannot host a live beehive, and have just launched a Pollinator Garden Grant for Libraries.

DAN AND MICHAEL O’LOUGHLIN

2021 NAPPC-NACD FARMER-RANCHER - UNITED STATES

Dan and Michael O’Loughlin operate a 200-acre farm in Yamhill County, OR that primarily grows tall fescue seed. There are few pollinator initiatives in Oregon that the O’Loughlins have not supported or helped, including having surveyed bees at over 1,500 locations for the Oregon Bee Atlas, having worked with the county to establish trials assessing roadside pollinator seed mixes, having created pollinator habitat at schools through the State School Garden Network, and having served as leaders in the State Pollinator Protection Initiative, the Oregon Bee Project. O’Loughlin Farm has also made major strides to increase insect biodiversity. The farm rarely uses insecticides owing to the high endemic populations of beneficial insects and vertebrates, and insectary plantings are key to this strategy. Many of the plants they use are important nectar and pollen sources and butterfly host plants.

POLLINATION GUELPH

2021 NAPPC POLLINATOR ADVOCATE – CANADA

Pollination Guelph, founded in 2008, is an entirely volunteer-run charitable organization that focuses on protecting pollinator habitats by building and maintaining public and private gardens throughout Guelph, ON. Several notable projects include Eastview Pollinator Park, The Gosling Pollinator Gardens at Hospice Wellington, Trans Canada Trail Pollinator Gardens, and Clair Road Emergency Services Centre Pollinator Habitat Meadow. In addition to on-the-ground work, Pollination Guelph reaches out to its diverse audience with numerous education initiatives and advocacy campaigns through their website in the form of videos, web links, downloads, factsheets, and newsletters on a wide range of topics. The organization also hosts an annual symposium featuring workshops and networking opportunities that is attended by people from all over Canada. In addition, their Community Grant program enables other nonprofit groups in Guelph to establish and maintain pollinator habitat. In 2021, this program provided a total of $10,000 to 16 local organizations.

ESPECIES, SOCIEDAD Y HABITAT, A.C.

2021 NAPPC POLLINATOR ADVOCATE – MEXICO

Especies, Sociedad y Habitat, A.C. (ESHAC) is a nonprofit organization that uses a human community-centered approach to implement projects that promote the conservation of natural resources and endangered species while promoting sustainable use of biodiversity. ESHAC has implemented more than 30 projects in northeast Mexico, impacting more than 30,000 hectares of priority area for conservation in the region. Over the last five years, ESHAC has been collaborating closely with Don Martin-CONANP to promote the conservation of the Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis), with special emphasis on protecting cave roosts and enhancing foraging habitat along their migratory corridor. To date, they have planted over 9,500 agaves near critical roosts and restored over 250 hectares of habitat. They have also worked with local communities to develop holistic management approaches, train 79 individuals form 5 communities in sustainable and regenerative agriculture and grazing techniques, and pioneer a drone-based survey protocol to evaluate foraging resources for pollinating bats at the landscape level.

EMILIO VIEYRA

2021 NAPPC FARMER-RANCHER – MEXICO

Emilio Vieyra owns and operates Mezcal Don Mateo de la Sierra to produce one of the few environmentally friendly, sustainable mezcals. He ensures that the areas where they grow agaves remain forested and was one of the first to receive recognition of Bat Friendly© practices, keeping the recognition each year since 2016. In keeping with this recognition, Emilio allows at least 5% of his agaves to flower for bats and other pollinators. The majority of bats visiting their plants are the endangered Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis), showing the impact of their practices at the local level. Regionally, Emilio is educating his peers and extending his practices to other mezcal producers. He also hosts practical seminars covering all his production processes for bartenders and others during the flowering season, creating many other promoters of Bat Friendly© practices in the process.

TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

2021 NAPPC ELECTRIC POWER

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) The Meadoway is an active urban restoration project in Toronto, ON that encompasses 200 hectares and 16 linear kilometers of the Gatineau Hydro Corridor between the Don River Ravine and the Rouge National Urban Park. The goals of the revitalization are to create and maintain a diverse, native meadow habitat for local wildlife and to create and active East-West link between Toronto and the Rouge National Urban Park. Full project completion is expected by the end of 2024, but by the end of 2021, 64 hectares will have been restored, completing 70% of the project. The Meadoway will connect seven rivers and ravine systems, 15 parks, 16 km of trail, 13 neighborhoods, over 200 hectares of greenspace, and more than 1,000 diverse species of flora and fauna. Corporate and community groups have also been engaged as participants in stewardship activities including the planting of native potted stock, garbage collection, invasive species removal, and interpretive walks.

More on Pollinator Partnership

Pollinator Partnership’s mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research.

The Pollinator Partnership is working to protect pollinators and their habitat with projects all over the North America and globally. See what local and regional initiatives are active near you.

Pollinator Partnership Canada (P2C) is a registered not-for-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems through conservation, education, and research.

Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce.

Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants – the very plants that

• bring us countless fruits, vegetables, and nuts,

• ½ of the world’s oils, fibers and raw materials;

• prevent soil erosion,

• and increase carbon sequestration