“Protect their lives. Preserve ours.”
When I ponder that statement from Pollinator Partnership, it’s pretty profound to think that the possibility of human extinction is tied to something as small as a bee or a butterfly. But it’s true. Their sole purpose for survival is so that pollination occurs, providing humans with necessary crops of fruits and vegetables for our own survival.
The mission of Pollinator Partnership is ‘to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education and research’. Their team of employees works tirelessly to make a difference for all pollinating animals and their habitat (www.pollinator.org). They work in collaboration with scientists, researchers, conservationists, government officials and stakeholders, all whom share concern for the drastic loss of vital pollinators and their habitat.
This organization works around the globe through projects designed to raise awareness of these issues. For example, by checking their website, I see within the USA they provide a Bee Smart School Garden Kit for a donation. This kit includes supplies for use in a classroom. They have developed a BeeSmart Pollinator Gardener App that is ‘your comprehensive guide to selecting plants specific to your area’. Through the App, you can filter your search for plants by what pollinators you want to attract to your garden, bloom color of flowers, and light and soil requirements to name a few.
In Canada, they have partnered with Burt’s Bees Canada to provide housing for bees in which to both rest and nest. Their new ‘bee hotel chain’ has been erected on downtown rooftops, botanical gardens and city parks. Pretty innovative! Other international initiatives are active in Africa, Brazil, Columbia, Europe and France.
My opinion of this is that if all these experts around the globe are concerned for the loss of pollinators, so should we as individuals. In the next several blog posts, I will share more information on how we can each become more involved…..before it’s too late!
