Bee Aware: Pollinate New England Workshops Offered In MetroWest

FRAMINGHAM, MA—From New England Wild Flower Society: Most plants depend on bees, butterflies, and other insects and animals to move pollen from one flower to another, in turn creating the fertile seeds almost all plants need to reproduce and thrive. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has called these pollinators “nearly as important as sunlight, soil, and water” to the very existence of more than 75 percent of the world’s flowering plants. One-third of the food Americans consume is dependent on pollinators, and each year, pollinators also increase the country’s crop values by billions of dollars.

In recent years, however, there has been a drastic decline in pollinator populations. One cause, experts say, is the lack of genetically diverse, pesticide-free, native plants that would enable these pollinators to thrive. The problem has become so severe that in 2015 a Presidential Memorandum on the “Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators” called for immediate action to ensure the sustainability of the nation’s food production systems.

To help combat this serious problem, New England Wild Flower Society has launched Pollinate New England to encourage communities and individuals across New England to use pesticide-free native plants in their gardens to create habitat for these critical species.

Through this initiative, the Society aims to equip concerned citizens with the knowledge, tools, materials, resources, and encouragement they need to help pollinate New England. It is offering free workshops, lectures, and online resources to teach New Englanders how to create and grow gardens that support the region’s native pollinators, how to select the most effective native plants, and how to ensure they’re creating and sustaining healthy conditions in which pollinators can survive and flourish.

“We’re incredibly excited to be able to offer these free workshops to the public. No matter your location or current level of knowledge, you can join this initiative and quickly and effectively become part of the solution,” states Courtney Allen, the Society’s director of public programs, in the statement. “We strongly urge everyone to learn more, get involved, and help us combat pollinator decline.”

The workshops are being held at 12 public sites across New England, at which the Society will install pollinator gardens, and train participants on how to do the same in their own backyards. Education about pollinators and pollinator-friendly gardens will also be offered in a free public lecture the same evening. All workshops will be held from 1-4 p.m. and all lectures will be held from 6-8:30 p.m.

For those who are interested, but can’t attend one of the in-person events, there is also a free online course, “Gardening with Pollinators,” that shows how to convert lawns and other sites into efficient pollinator gardens. In addition, the Society’s nursery is producing a limited number of pollinator-attracting native plant kits for each region of New England, which are available for purchase through the Society’s website and retail shops.

For program updates, to register for the free workshops and lectures, or to purchase pollinator kits, visit the Society’s website.

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