From wildflower-covered landfill caps to agricultural field buffers, no-mow office parks and reclaimed quarries, WHC-certified programs provide habitat for pollinators.
These habitats are outdoor classrooms where communities learn how to identify butterflies, plant gardens that provide nectar to hummingbirds, and create shelter and nesting substrate for native bees. National Pollinator Week is a time to celebrate what WHC-certified programs do for pollinators, but it is also a time to build awareness about the continuing threats to pollinators and push conservation education and habitat management initiatives even further.
Suggestions for a National Pollinator Week celebration:
- Add a bee block to a pollinator garden (instructions: US Fish & Wildlife Service).
- Plant a pollinator garden using a regional planting guide from the Pollinator Partnership & North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC).
- Teach a lesson from NAPPC’s Nature’s Partners curriculum to a visiting community group.
- Implement or improve a NAPPC Pollinator Friendly Practice.
- Screen a webcast from MonarchLIVE in the lunchroom.
- Start planning to participate in the MonarchWatch citizen science project this fall. Plant native milkweed plants and get some team tagging dates on the calendar.
- In areas where bats are pollinators, install a bat house (instructions: Bat Conservation International); plant flowers preferred by bats; and talk to community and family members about bat facts, myths and safety.
Contact WHC’s Conservation Education & Outreach Department to start developing a Corporate Lands for Learning program focused on pollinator education.
