Designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U. S. Department of the Interior, June celebrates National Pollinator month and June 21-27 as Pollinator week. While pollinator month and pollinator week highlight the push for pollinator protection and its impact on climate change, the People and Pollinators Action Network, or PPAN, and several of their partner organizations work throughout the year to make long-term changes.
Joyce Kennedy, outreach and advocacy coordinator for PPAN, said the organization offers monthly education around pollinator protection activities. One way the organization advocates for change both in public spaces and in homes is through creating pollinator-friendly habitats.
"In the context of supporting pollinator health, we're looking at having a diversity of native plants including flowers that are appropriate plants for your region, as well as different types of grasses," Kennedy said. "Non-native turf is not an appropriate plant in this region. We obviously plant a lot of it. We want to go back to what our Colorado landscapes should be and not rely on as much water for our soil. We should be attempting to have something blooming throughout the growing season and creating healthy soil, as well as eliminating pesticide use."
Sometimes that can be difficult according to Kate Rentschar, who, as an environmental planner and runs Nature in the City, a program of the cIty of Fort Collins Natural Areas. The program supports access to nature where people live and work, particularly in underserved areas. She calls ordinances determining lawn and weed height and having all-grass landscapes in new developments "legacy policies."
"One challenge to creating pollinator-friendly habitats is what I would call legacy policy, or a legacy effect of old policies. So think of weed and grass height ordinances. I think a lot of these old legacy policies or HOA covenants can be a real barrier or hurdle for folks to get over," she said.
While those hurdles are certainly limiting, Rentschar suggests making changes to one part of your yard and ensuring it's beautiful. That's one way to get people to stop and talk and to create awareness.
"I would recommend, if you have kind of watchdog neighbors or an HOA, you create a small garden on the side of your driveway, or on the sidewalk in front of your house first. Get some really nice flowers in there. Everybody loves flowers," Rentschar said. "Start small, make it easy on yourself so you can baby it and take care of it so it's beautiful. And then, hopefully, people will see that and get more on board with it and you can slowly transform the mindset as you go along."
PPAN, Nature in the City, the Audubon Society, League of Women Voters, Wild Ones and some other organizations partnered to offer native plant swaps earlier this month. Native plant swaps aim to have more gardens filled with region-appropriate plants. Native plant swaps are a free, pay-it-forward way to encourage native planting in gardens. When people have grown some native plants in their gardens and have additional seeds or cuttings to spare they bring them to the swap to pass on to someone who may be replacing non-native species or starting a new garden.
According to the "Our Problem" statement on PPAN's website, non-native plants reduce biodiversity, are often invasive, use high levels of water, reduce food sources for wildlife and humans and contribute to climate change. One resource for finding native plants for the garden is the Colorado Native Plant Society's list, found at https://conps.org/gardening-with-native-plants/.
PPAN encourages homeowners to sign the pollinator safe pledge. The pledge asks homeowners to not use pesticides and to plan only pollinator safe plants.
Other ways to support pollinators include not cutting grass quite so short, and if possible, allowing some broadleaf plants like dandelions to grow.
Scott Schrobilgen, who co-owns The Bee Hugger Farm with his fiancée L.J. Werner, notes some improvement in colony collapse disorder when a majority of worker bees disappear from a hive and leave the queen behind — but knows there is a lot more work to do. He is happy to help create awareness for pollinator protection both through the natural farming methods they use and protecting the bees on his farm and beyond. Schrobligen and Werner avoid pesticides and let most broadleaf weeds grow. Schrobilgen notes that the sunflowers and pumpkins are two plants that seem to coexist well with the broadleaf weeds.
Schrobilgen is also excited to add his name to the list of supporters for the pollinator license plate that has recently passed the house and senate. Community members can also write letters of support for the pollinator license plate bill that is awaiting Governor Polis's signature. Purchasing the plate and the related donations will help fund pollinator protection programs and organizations.
It can be challenging to see how these small changes affect pollinator colonies, so pollinator advocates are asking citizens to help track changes in pollinator growth through a tool called iNaturalist. People can find more information at https://www.inaturalist.org/.
Keep an eye out for information on the upcoming Pollinator Summit that will take place virtually on November 4, 2021.
