Office of Sustainability - Columbia STEM Alliance:
Pollinators
Virtual Classroom
The City of Columbia Office of Sustainability is making a meaningful impact against a critical threat to biodiversity: the decline of pollinators. With the help of the City's Public Works Department, we are engaging in education and outreach efforts to increase public awareness of the importance of pollination.
Pollination is a critical ecological function that has driven the diversification of plants for more than 100 million years.
Did you know?
Pollination is a critical ecological function that has driven the diversification of plants for more than 100 million years.This process is vital today for supporting both natural ecosystems and human food security. By facilitating plant reproduction, animals (bees, butterflies, flies, birds, and bats) pollinate almost 90 percent of the world's wild plant species, and more than 75 percent of global food crop. Without pollinators like bees, foods like fruits and vegetables as well as some of humanity’s most important cash crops—like coffee, almonds, and cacao—would likely go extinct.
While more than 20,000 species of birds, bats, and insects pollinate these crops, the thousands of bee species are the single most important group of pollinators for our food crops. Bees are also the predominant pollinators of most plants in natural ecosystems, and are often the most frequent visitors of flowers. Tropical ecosystems are home to perhaps 220,000 of the world’s flowering plant species - bees may pollinate or visit 50 percent of these flowers.
How you can help
There are many resources and practices for supporting pollinators in your yard, at school, and in the community. Many plants cannot reproduce without pollen carried to them by foraging pollinators. The most common option is to support pollinator habitats. This can be done by:
Keeping patches of native plants on agricultural property.
Offering plants that flower at different times of the year.
Providing housing, such as butterfly boxes and carpenter bee houses.
Providing water sources, such as a bird bath.
Practicing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to avoid spraying pollinators with pesticides.
VIDEOS TO WATCH:
Increase your knowledge about the issue.
Flowers and Their Pollinators: A Perfect Match!
How Do Pollinators Help Plants Grow?
The Power of Pollinators