Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/wildflower-seeds-for-bees/
Wildflowers provide food and habitat to countless bee species, some endangered. Sadly, they are disappearing almost as fast as the vital pollinators.
But thanks in part to your generous donations, wildflowers are starting to bloom once again.
The world can’t survive without bees and bees can’t survive without flowers, so GreaterGood partnered with the Bee Girl Organization and Borderlands Restoration Network to plant native wildflowers.
The pollen-rich flowers will not only feed bees but will also feed other pollinators like butterflies.
More fields are covered in wildflowers, thanks to your donation of seeds.
Bee Girl Organization (BGO)
BGO used the donated seeds to convince an owner of two vineyards to plant wildflowers to help bees.
Sarah Kari Red-Laird, Executive Director or better known as “Head workerbee” of the nonprofit, told us:
“Convincing farmers to plant wildflowers for bees is difficult. The cost is high, and unless it directly contributes to their profit, it’s a hard sell. Vineyards are self-pollinating, so don’t require insect pollination. This creates an unfortunate trend of vineyards being synonymous with ‘pollination deserts.’ This donation of seeds and planting support gave our winemaker / vineyard owner the confidence to plant for our bees, without ‘risking’ his own assets/capital.”
And it was a success! The wildflowers are blooming and bees are buzzing around the vineyard.
She said, “Thanks to you, we have two vineyards full of happy bees, and it looks to be correlating with a stellar vineyard microbiome, and a great wine vintage. If we’re able to provide data on bee habitat creating great wine, we may be able to reverse the trend of the ‘napalm vineyard’ aesthetic.”
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The wildflower meadow is now full of “daisies, clover, flatweed, glandweed, poison oak (a popular native flower!!), and self-heal abuzz with bees and other beneficials like ladybugs and butterflies,” recalls Sarah.
BGO has many programs in place to preserve and protect bees.
See more of their work in the video below.
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Borderlands Restoration Network (BRN)
BRN focuses on rebuilding healthy ecosystems for plants and wildlife. They plant wildflowers to help not only bees but other pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds.
They used the donated seeds to create a 2-acre pollination garden.
“As pollinators such as hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies fly along their migratory routes, they need to refuel. Pollinator gardens are like gas stations, providing much needed fuel to distance travelers and local residents alike. As pollinators have evolved with native plants, their relationships are complex and fantastic. Planting pollinator gardens creates critical habitat and invites these amazing creatures into our backyards and enriches our lives. These two acres will provide native seed of pollinator plants that will flower and provide pollen and nectar for a variety of native pollinator insects and birds as they refuel in the region,” stated BRN.
Both organizations believe education is key to changing the world and protecting bees. They educate farmers, children, and anyone who will listen on how important bees are and why we need to help them.
BRN offers the following educational programs:
Borderlands Earth Care Youth (BECY)
Sarah from BGO is optimistic and said, “In our initial data, we have seen populations of bees increase from 2020 (pre-flower donation) to 2021 (post-flower donation). We are hoping the flowers re-seed themselves, are able to get some good winter rains, and flourish in 2022 and beyond.”
Thank you for your support! Please continue to help bees by donating more wildflower seeds here and by planting some native wildflowers in your own backyard.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
