Did you know having a garden is not only adding nature to your surroundings but can provide many insects and birds a substantial source of food?
June 17 through June 23 is National Pollinator Week, a great opportunity to learn about the many pollinating species and some fascinating facts.
So what is a pollinator?
A pollinator is simply an insect or other species that transfers pollen from one flowering plant to another.
Who are pollinators?
Bees, Butterflies, Moths, Beetles, Wasps, Ants, Spiders, Bats, and Birds, oh and the wind is also a pollinator!
Why should it matter?
Well, a good amount of the food that we eat begins with help from pollinators. If they didn’t need nectar for their survival we wouldn’t have honey to create honey butter. Without the flowering plants being pollinated, baseball players wouldn’t have sunflower seeds to eat and shells to spit out in the dugout, we wouldn’t have blueberry pie for the Brooksville Blueberry Festival, and we wouldn’t have pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Not only that but we wouldn’t have apples, peaches or oranges to name a few!
The vegetable garden or citrus trees you have in your backyard or on your farm, those bees, butterflies, beetles, and ants help them to flourish.
Another reason why pollinators are important has to do with the colors of nature. Pollinators gather nectar from hundreds of different wildflower species, bringing life, color, and beauty to the forest. They can be the smallest of orchids to the tallest of trees. These beautiful and colorful flowers depend on pollinators for fertilization. Nature is amazing, and to learn how it all works together makes it incredible.
So how can you celebrate National Pollinator Week?
Plant a wildflower garden. It doesn’t have to be a big garden, maybe a planter or two outside with an of Florida native wildflowers. This is a great summer project for the kids.
Visit https://www.pollinator.org/ for more information and resources. Please send us photos of you working in your garden. Tell us what you planted and what you learned. Email [email protected] with your parents’ permission.
