We strive to spread awareness to our community and anyone who is interested in creating their own pollinator garden. Over 80% of flowering plants require pollination by animals to successfully to reproduce and produce seeds and fruits. Plants and pollinators together provide the basis for life by converting the sunlight into food, materials for shelter, clean air, clean water, medicines, and other necessities of life.
Under the leadership of the Environmental Action Committee, our Church has instituted a NO MOW MAY, leaving the church’s lawn uncut in order to provide habitat for our pollinators, which is particularly important in the Spring.
ADDITIONAL INFO ON POLLINATORS
There are 4,000 bee species native to North America (the honey bee is a European import) and most of those don’t form hives. Instead, individual female bees lay their eggs in tunnels in decaying wood or in sandy soil. You can offer such nesting spots by leaving tree snags on your property, by leaving bare batches of sandy soil, or by building or buying whimsical bee houses.
Bees are our most important pollinators, and they are insects. So are butterflies like the monarch. Using insecticides will kill these insects. Herbicides will kill important native plants such as milkweed that pollinators rely upon as a food source and a place to raise young. Make the commitment to avoid using chemicals and to maintain your garden in a natural, organic way.
America’s native grasslands are critically important for pollinators such as bees and monarch butterflies. Our grasslands are filled with native plants that offer nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and a wide variety of pollinators. They also provide milkweed, the only host plant for monarch caterpillars. Today, more than 90 percent of native grasslands have been converted to cropland and development. Grasslands are disappearing faster than any other ecosystem in North America, and that’s a big problem for pollinators.
You can amplify National Wildlife Federation’s call to action by spreading the message about the plight of bees, monarch butterflies and other declining pollinators on social media. Take a minute to share this post on Facebook, Twitter and your other social media networks. That simple act can help take the message to millions more people than we can reach alone. Be sure to tag our Facebook and Twitter pages too!
LET'S DESIGN A POLLINATOR GARDEN
This video will show you the basics of how to start your own pollinator garden in your back yard.
Pollinator Gardens For Kids
An interesting and fun video for kids to learn how to start a pollinator garden.
