Farm owner frustrated after employee inadvertently destroys valuable land: 'I always tell people to never go off the path'

One farm owner discovered that even after multiple reminders to employees not to drive off the tractor path, a farm employee did exactly that, driving the farm's tractor off the path and into a green patch designated for wildlife. 

Frustrated at the situation, the farm owner shared a snapshot of the damage to the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit. "Someone drove through the monarch patch," the OP wrote. 

"We grow a bunch of milkweed and flowers suitable for butterflies and native bees along here (it's mostly for the monarchs tho). I always tell people to never go off the path cus of that," the OP described. 

The OP's photo shows a green patch beside a dirt road, with two white lines in the grass, showing where the employee drove the tractor onto — an area that appears matted down from the weight of the tractor. 

Long, tall grass and native plants provide shelter and food for pollinators, whose services help protect the human food supply. Native plants also support the local ecosystem and help stabilize the soil with their extensive root system, while requiring less water than non-native plants to survive.

Running over native plants designated to attract pollinators destroys their habitat and may cause reductions in pollinator populations, which can disrupt the local ecosystem. 

In addition, the farm owner noted that a mama fox created a fox den on the land off the designated path to raise her young pups — of which she has already lost two to coyotes. Veering off the designated path for the fun of it, in this case, could have resulted in a lost fox den and a mama without her babies. This was the case in Venus Bay, Australia, when a few off-road vehicles mowed down 10 wombats going off the road.

In another instance, an unauthorized quad bike rally in New Zealand resulted in a heavily torn-up walking path with considerable damage to the native plants and wetlands.

Taking care of and respecting the natural world helps preserve the homes of wildlife and humans. It's the only way to ensure that future generations will get to experience the planet and the natural world as previous generations once did. 

"Make it a minefield, it's the only way they will learn," one commenter jested under the OP's post. 

Playing along with the joke, the OP wrote, "Solid. I'm gonna strap the bees with c4 and give the deer drones." To which, a third commenter sarcastically replied, "It's the only logical way."

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