Stewardship – Pollinators and Native Plants
By Author
We planted our first Native Pollinator Garden! Let’s do more!
Pollinators are a hot topic right now, and they should be - but honeybees – and don’t get us wrong- we love them - are getting most of the attention. Yet, it’s important to point out there are other important pollinator players, native bees, moths, flies, beetles, butterflies, birds, and bats who are all hard at work providing equally vital but often unnoticed services.
The great thing about native pollinators is they don’t need beehive boxes or require treatments to protect them from diseases, and they don’t need to be transported to do their important pollinating job. Native pollinators are independent – they provide and live in their own habitat – they do it all by themselves. But they need our help preserving the habitats they depend on. Some of the greatest threats to pollinator species are the loss of habitat, loss of season-long flowers, and, for our specialist pollinators, loss of the specific flowering species they have closely evolved with and are solely dependent upon. It is through the planting of these important native, flowering species and choosing species that ensure season-long blooming, that we can reestablish pollinator habitat and save these critical species.
Here at Sundance, native bees, moths, flies, beetles, butterflies, and birds, pollinate the native plants that provide food for wildlife and sink their roots deep into the ground capturing carbon and preventing erosion.
Sundance Nature Alliance wants to support native pollinators, so we’ve formed a partnership with Ecology Bridge and, with support from the Utah Department of Food & Agriculture’s Utah Pollinator Habitat Program, we are enhancing pollinator habitat. In their first year, the Utah Pollinator Habitat Program grew an impressive 100,000 pollinator plants - from seeds collected here in Utah. This unique program was developed to improve native pollinator access to pollen and nectar by enhancing and expanding habitats and increasing connectivity between pollinator habitats. By inviting landowners to participate in their program they are addressing the greatest threat to native pollinators, habitat loss, and providing the community an opportunity to enjoy native blooms while supporting pollinators. We are fortunate that the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has chosen to actively conserve these important pollinators, and thanks to their program, we planted our first pollinator gardens this summer, and plan on more pollinator habitats in the near future. We hope to get your help and partnership!
Please join us!
Utah Pollinator Habitat Program
Thank you to all our partners!
UDAF, USU, UDWR, SUU, USDA-NRCS.