I am writing today in response to two recent letters published in the Bruce Peninsula Press [Issues #6 and #9]. The first letter was extolling the virtues of open composting and the second letter from a reader who’d had close encounters with bears on his property in June 2021, and was claiming that open-composting in the area was an open dinner invitation to the bears.
Both authors made valid points. The Compost Queen may be doing an excellent job of open-composting however the article left me with a question. What comprises “organic rubbish”?
Many food items seem to have this designation but not all are appropriate for backyard composters. Hopefully people who are contemplating open-composting especially [but also closed-lid], know to not add any fruit scraps [anything sweet at all actually], not any meat or fish even if it is considered ‘organic’, no oils, fats, proteins or anything with a potent odour. Any method of backyard composting needs to be a balance of browns [organic matter like leaves or unbleached brown paper etc.] and moisture and it needs frequent turning to help with decomposition.
The second letter refers us to the Bear-Wise programme run by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. I’d recommend every property owner have a look at this site which has clear and easy steps to prevent attracting bears.
While I agree that any backyard composting might be appealing to a hungry bear with a good memory, it is not a given that composting, even open-composting, will create a bear problem. Composting needs to be done thoughtfully whichever method is chosen. Several articles on the art of composting have been in the Press over the past few years. We have 3 closed-lid composters in active use over the past 12 years and have never had a bear show any interest at all…we even watched a mother and cub walk right by ours one year without a sideways glance!
What neither article talked about but what is clearly stated on the Bear-Wise site are bird feeders! They recommend that they come down as soon as the snow goes in Spring and are not put back up until bears have denned late in the Fall. I have to say that every time someone tells me about seeing a bear in their yard, the next question I ask is, “Do you have bird feeders up?” Repeatedly the answer has been “yes”. Often these same people know that the feeder may have been the attraction and launch into a ‘mea culpa’ about how they meant to have taken them down but didn’t get around to it!
Composting and bird feeders. Both represent some of the healthy and nature-friendly aspects of life on the Peninsula. If current carefully researched advice is respected, bears do not have to become a nuisance that are feared, relocated or shot!
Judi MacLeod,
Tobermory
