Pollinators need our help

#MiddleburyCT #NoMowMay #PollinatorPathway

A New Hampshire yard with a pollinator garden displays a pollinator pathway sign. (Flickr creative commons photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Spring brings with it an opportunity to help the pollinators upon whom we depend. Gardeners and farmers recognize this dependence, but others may be blissfully unaware. They may not realize almost all the fruits, nuts and vegetables they eat need a pollinator to develop.

The United States Department of Agriculture reminds us, “Pollination services from honey bees and other insects provide the backbone to ensuring our diets are diverse and plentiful with fruits, nuts, and vegetables.” Our fate, at least when it comes to the food we eat, is closely connected to the fate of pollinators. Learn more at usda.gov/pollinators.

We may think of honeybees first, but the USDA says the U.S. has more than 4,000 types of bees and more than 100 crops depend on pollinators. While the honeybee is the major pollinator here, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds also help with pollination. No pollinators, fewer crops.

The USDA reports that over the past 30-plus years our nation’s pollinator populations have suffered serious losses due to invasive pests and diseases, such as mites and viral and fungal pathogens; exposure to pesticides and other chemicals; loss of habitat; loss of species and genetic diversity; and changing climate. Numerous species of butterflies, moths, and native bees are either extremely rare or are extinct.

We can do several things to help reverse these losses: provide food sources for our pollinators, delay mowing our grass until after more natural food sources have emerged, and limit or eliminate the use of pesticides and chemicals in our yards.

To provide food sources, some towns create pollinator pathways. See the photo above for a pollinator pathway yard in New Hampshire. For a list of participating Connecticut towns, visit www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns-1/connecticut. Neither Middlebury nor Woodbury is listed as a participant. Neighboring towns Naugatuck and Southbury are listed.

Naugatuck has Gunntown Passive Park and Nature Preserve; Southbury is developing a pollinator pathway. Naugatuck says of its park, “This diverse 44 acre area is pesticide and herbicide free. The meadows are loaded with indigenous plants, brown eyed Susan’s, fleabane, canary grass, Kentucky blue stem grass, multiflora rose, honeysuckle, autumn olive, blackberries, black raspberries, milkweed, dianthus, coreopsis, poke weed, Indian hemp, lupine, dog woods, Indian blanket, and more.

Delaying mowing helps pollinators find food sources in early spring when few flowers bloom. Dandelions are among the first to bloom. You may hate them, but the pollinator needs them for survival, along with any other early blooming “weeds” that might sprout in our yards. Incidentally, every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring. Other useful “weeds” include chickweed, malva, and chamomile.

To help pollinators, some communities observe what was originally called “No Mow May.” Now they have No Mow April, No Mow May, or Low Mow Spring. They delay starting to mow their lawns and leave dandelions and other flowers until pollinators have more sources of nectar. Learn all about No Mow May at beecityusa.org/no-mow-may.

A program at the Woodbury Library on Thursday, April 13, at 6:30 p.m. may help those who would like to eliminate or reduce the use of pesticides and chemicals in their yards. Reference and Technology Librarian Ron Fairchild will discuss alternatives to pesticides, herbicides, and other chemical solutions and provide options for natural pesticides and herbicides, including beneficial insect and arachnid species. Register at www.woodburylibraryct.org or call 203-263-3502 for more information.

If you are interested in No Mow May or in developing pollinator pathways here in Middlebury, we’d love to hear from you. With enough local support, Middlebury could help reverse the current decline of pollinators. Last year, when we asked about this, we heard from one enthusiastic reader. Anyone else interested? Send an email with “Pollinators” in the subject line to mbisubmit@gmail.com to express your interest and provide your contact information. We hope to hear from you.