by Rachel Lane, KFB Board Member
Here at Keep Florence Beautiful, we’re buzzing about bees. Our hearts flutter when we think about butterflies. We marvel at moths and our days brighten when we see birds. To sum it up, we’re passionate about our local pollinators.
As we (all) should be. We’re not being dramatic when we say that a majority of the food we eat every day wouldn’t exist without pollinators. Foods like apples, strawberries, vanilla, potatoes (!), chocolate (!!), and coffee (!!!!!) all require pollination for their production and thus, require pollinators. If that’s not enough to get you worried about a future without pollinators, we also need pollinators for clean air and water, erosion prevention, and to sustain other wildlife. Are we being a little dramatic when we say we would not be able to survive without pollinators? Yes, but just because it’s dramatic doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Now that you’re just as obsessed with protecting pollinators as we are (welcome to the club, we’re thinking about making t-shirts), you may be wondering, “KFB, what can I do to help pollinators?”. We’re so glad you asked!
- Learn more about pollinators. Do you know what insects and animals are considered pollinators and which aren’t? I do, but that’s why they asked me to write this blog. You can learn more about the pollinators, their environmental impact, and how their populations are being impacted here, here, here, and also here.
- Add pollinator plants to your yard and/or gardens. Much like you would set out cookies so Santa would bring you presents, you should include plants like milkweed and goldenrods so nature brings you bees and butterflies. You can find a list of native pollinator plants here.
- Add even more pollinator aids to your yard and/or gardens. Don’t want to stop at just pollinator plants? Of course you don’t! Put up bee and bat boxes. Add a water source like a bird bath with stones placed in it for the bees. Set aside that unspoken yard competition you have with your neighbor and participate in movements like No Mow May.
- Reduce pesticide use. Pesticides will take care of the insects you don’t want, but they also will kill the insects we do want. Here is a good resource about reducing pesticides as well as steps to take to protect wildlife from pesticide use.
- Tell others about pollinators. Share this newsletter, post about National Pollinator Week on social media, do a pollinator-themed activity with your kids, become that person that has an unlimited amount of fun facts about bees (bees pass information to each other by dancing!). The more people who know about pollinators, the more we can do to help protect them.
You can also make plans to join us and plenty of other pollinator-loving vendors this Saturday at the Bee City Takeover event. This free, family-friendly event will take place at the City Center Farmers Market (200 Sanborn Street in Florence) from 8:00am to 1:00pm. We hope you’ll bee there!