Hydro Ottawa's Pollinator Meadow An Environmental Renewal Project - By Morgan Barnes Media and Public Affairs Advisor, Hydro Ottawa
L
et me tell you about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and... utilities? Across North America, populations of Monarch butterflies, bees, and other pollinators are in steep decline due to herbicides, pesticides, climate change and a reduction in natural pollinator habitats. It may seem like an unlikely union, but utilities are ideally suited to restore these environments due to the number of utility corridors and properties in their service territories, not to mention the kilometres of power lines and right of ways along roadsides. Moreover, vegetation management along utility corridors is compatible with the type of vegetation necessary to support pollinators.
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canadian electricity association - THE GRID 2021 | Renewal
In 2019, Hydro Ottawa began civil construction on Cambrian, its largest ever municipal transformer station, in the south-end of the city of Ottawa, situated on 24 acres of land. The new facility will support future growth in the community which is expected to more than double over the next twenty years due to planned residential and commercial developments, including the recent addition of a new 10-megawatt Amazon distribution centre. The rest of the transformer station site might have remained vacant, but those overseeing the project at Hydro Ottawa wondered if there was a more inspired use for the land.
