2 MILLION BLOSSOMS
Decatur ‘s Willow Lane Pollinator Habitat is home to more than 250 native plants, shrubs and trees. A giving pro- support plant purchases
Dirty Hands Project number two is underway this summer at the en-
trance of the historic cemetery in Decatur, Georgia. “We take advantage of people with knowledge and experience like master gardeners along with volunteers from all different types of organizations,” said Peter Helfrich. For the larger projects, they recruit volunteers from high
school clubs, church groups, scouts, civic clubs and other en- weeding was tough. No one likes to weed. It’s a chore. Unless you can come up with brilliant rebranding. Beecatur’s Pollinator Habitat Coordinator, Claudia McDavid turned it into a monthly so- cial hour. “Wine and Weeding” now brings out the locals in force. The motley collection of volunteer weeders swap sto- ries while sipping a glass. Wine a little more! In Greenwood, South Carolina Anne Barklow, a horti- culturist and the city’s Bee City USA liaison, mentors volun- teers in a diverse array of pollinator projects. They’ve created a rain garden at a bio-retention pond. They’ve also planted an edible landscape to supply fresh produce for the farmer’s market. Local carpenters break out their tools to construct mason bee and leafcutter bee nesting boxes, while others tend to seedlings growing in Greenwood’s three greenhouses. Due to all these volunteer efforts, Greenwood has been revitalized, a pollinator friendly facelift. But Barklow has her eyes set on the future. “We’ve come a long way,” she remarks, “but still have more work to do to meet the Bee City guide- lines.” Her goal is to become mostly pesticide-free while in- cluding a diverse selection of native plants in all the new and pre-existing landscaping. Two committees supervise the revamping of Henderson-
ville, NC: the Environmental Sustainability Board and the Tree Board. The tree board has participated in the Tree City USA program for over 20 years, handling all new habitats and planting. They’ve established a greenway with lots of also sponsor a ‘neighborwood’ program that provides trees to homeowners.
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While the tree board takes care of plants, the Environ- mental Sustainability Board takes charge of the outreach and education component of the Bee City USA program. They sponsor pollinator events and present educational programs for schools, clubs and other groups. “It doesn’t take much space to provide a home for polli-
nators,” according to Bailey, a member of the Sustainability Board, who coordinates the efforts between both commit- tees. She’s always been involved in environmental education and says it’s amazing how much can be accomplished in small urban areas. “Native bees only roam a matter of a few hun- dred yards from where they were born. These small areas are critical and everybody can do something.” Bailey is especially proud of the Pollinator Exploration Kit, all the tools needed to explore the great outdoors up close with a gaggle of kids. It’s available to borrow free of charge for educators, 4-H and scout leaders or naturalists. “Children go on a safari and look for insects and organ- isms who live in natural and planted pollinator habitat,” ex- plains Bailey.
Using insects nets or bug bubbles, the kids capture
Once caught, they identify the inhabitant using an illustrat-
Monarch laying eggs on milkweed
© Peter Helfrich
© Kim Bailey
© Kim Bailey
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