Creating and protecting habitat for pollinators is an urgent matter. Insect abundance has declined an average of 6.6% annually. We don't have much time left to save the pollinators, before the damage is irreversible.
Learn More:
Over 45% of insect populations lost: why caterpillars matter now more than ever
Housing and urban development, forestry practices, and agricultural expansion, which reduce areas of wetland, forest, and other native habitats. Construction often creates areas of compacted soil, pollution, and invasive species that crowd out native species.
Heavy use of pesticides, particularly neonics which contaminate plants. Using herbicides and pesticides profoundly decreases the survival and reproduction of native plant and pollinator populations.
Plant native plants in your gardens and landscapes. (Plant list here!)
Plant a diversity of different flower colors & shapes, bloom times, and plant families.
Eliminate lawn wherever possible.
Don’t use pesticides, which includes herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.
Leave an area of habitat untidy; fallen leaves, aa pile of branches, tall grass for over-wintering insects.
Connect your habitat garden with a neighbors, creating a corridor.
Share what you are doing or know with other people—in person or with garden signs!
Pathways benefit all the pollinators: bees, beetles, hover flies, butterflies, birds, and bats (humans as well). Native pollinators provide many services to our ecosystem—food for songbird populations, pollination of agricultural crops, and symbiotic relationships with native shrubs and wildflowers, ensuring their survival.