Bee the change, plant natives for Pollinator Week

June 24, 2021| Environment

By: Holly Odgers

National Pollinator Week (June 21-27, 2021) is an annual event to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. 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 by helping plants reproduce. Without the actions of pollinators agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would collapse.

Below are some suggestions on ways to help pollinators.

7 Things You Can Do For Pollinators

5 Things Kids Can Do To Help Pollinators

Create a pollinator-friendly habitat in your yard or garden

You can follow the steps below from the Pollinator Partnership to create a beautiful native pollinator garden. For additional assistance in selecting plants for pollinators, you can also check out the Pollinator Partnership's ecoregional planting guide. And feel free to stop by the native gardens at the Lake Hopatcong Foundation Environmental & Cultural Center, 125 Landing Road, Landing, for inspiration!

Get to know some pollinators

Monarch Butterflies

Monarch biology and ecology webinar

Bees

How to identify bees

More resources

• National Gardening Association (http://www.garden.org/)
• Cornell University Department of Horticulture (http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/)
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Schoolyard Habitat (http://www.fws.gov/cno/conservation/schoolyard.cfm)
• The Edible School Project (http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/#)
• American Community Garden Association (http://communitygarden.org/index.php)
• Monarch Watch (http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/)