Why pollinators are important (and 7 steps how you can help save them)
When the summer heat finally arrives, and we get to sit outside and sip on cool drinks, inevitably comes the annoyance of insects that bite and sting. Whether you grow flowers for beauty, veggies and fruit to produce food, or just enjoy the shade of some big trees, there is no getting away from the buzz and bustle of insects (and other animals) hurrying to collect up pollen and sip on nectar.
And that’s a really good thing!
Because without pollinators, humans and many other species would go extinct from lack of food. Like it or not, our lives, food and economy all run on the backs of tiny little insects that spend their days visiting flowers.
Let’s talk about why pollinators are important and seven things you can do to prevent them from going extinct.
What are pollinators?
Pollinators are animals (insects, birds, bats, and small mammals) that move from flower to flower seeking out nectar and gathering up pollen in the process. As they move, they transport that pollen from one flower to the next and then the next.
Pollen is the male reproductive gamete of the flower that is needed to fertilize the egg and create a new plant (seed). Since plants and flowers don’t move themselves, pollinators often do the work of moving pollen around for the plants. Why? Usually because the plant has gone to a lot of trouble to attract those pollinators through special structures, perfumes and nectar. Pollination is usually a win-win for the plants and animals involved . . . .and a win for the rest of us who benefit from the results.
Why is pollination important?
According to the website www.pollinator.org:
Somewhere between 75% and 95% [1] of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination – they need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops.
That’s a LOT of flower visits!
And that means without pollinators, food as we know it ceases to exist.
If all the flowering plants on earth stopped reproducing, the oxygen on the planet would mostly disappear. It’s estimated that it takes 300-500 green plants to produce enough oxygen for one person.
[Just for clarity – non-flowering plants are plants that reproduce by spores so that includes mosses, ferns, horsetails and such. .. . nothing that you would really want to eat, and not enough to create oxygen for 8 billion people. Conifers are often BIG and are non-flowering plants, but we humans are busy cutting them all down and they don’t make enough types of food to sustain us on their own!]
No pollinators means No humans
So the big question is – what are YOU doing to make sure pollinators keep on buzzing?
How can YOU help pollinators?
Pollinators are in trouble world wide thanks to human hubris. Reversing that trend is everyone’s business, at least if you want to eat and breathe.
Here’s how you can help pollinators:
(1) Think before you swat
While insects buzzing around can be annoying, think twice before you kill a pollinator. That means learning something about the animals in your area responsible for pollination and protecting them from harm.
There are lots of valuable resources online that will help you identify pollinators, but for a quick and dirty rule of thumb – if it visits a flower, it’s probably important!
Try positioning your chair out of the flight path that pollinators are using to get to the flowers and trees. It’s not called a “bee-line” for nothing!
Use a fan to create wind turbulence and discourage pollinators from visiting your sitting area while you are cooling off.
Use insect screens instead of repellants.
Carry wayward pollinators out of your house (in a jar or container) and release them outside instead of killing them on the window sill.
(2) Plant more flowers, bushes and trees
Pollinators need flowers to survive. Every flower, bush and tree counts when it comes to providing food and habitat for pollinators. Do your part!
Even a balcony pot or window box of flowers can provide an important stopping place for pollinators on their journey.
Pollinators do not travel very far between their nest and their food source. Most only travel within a few hundred meters (although honey bees can travel up to a few kilometers).
That means the richer your landscape is with flowers all season long, the more types of pollinators you can support. Use bloom time tracking and diverse plant species to create a continuous supply of flowers from spring until fall in your garden. Make sure to include lots of small-flowering plants like herbs, alyssum, yarrow, and clover to attract the tiny pollinator insects that get overlooked when the focus stays on “honeybees” specifically.
(3) Include native plants in your landscape
Every area has its own list of pollinators. Plants native to your area support pollinators native to your area. It’s that simple. So by including some native plants in your garden, you are automatically giving space for local pollinators to thrive.
(4) Provide water but not in buckets!
Everyone needs a cool drink on a hot day. Pollinators need water to survive summer, just like you do.
The best way to provide water is in shallow rock-filled pans or via waterfall features that create a thin film of water running over a stone surface with exposed edges. I have a concreate fountain water feature and the thin edge of water spilling over the side of the fountain is often lined with rows of honey bees having a drink on a hot day.
The hotter your area is in the summer (especially if it’s overheating due to climate change!) the more important it is to create a drinking spot for pollinators.
The WORST way to provide water for pollinators is by leaving buckets of water sitting around in your yard. Not every area is the same, but white buckets filled with water often attract and kill small pollinating bees in my area. It’s heartbreaking to find them dead in the water. If you notice this happening, make sure you are overturning those buckets or put in enough rocks or sticks that the insects can safely approach the water’s edge and get back out again if they fall in.
(5) Create undisturbed areas
Most urban and residential gardens suffer from too much cleanliness and order. It’s true! Your garden can be too perfect.
While we have been trained by gardening magazines to consider well-trimmed plants and bare spaces in between as beautiful, too much “gardening” is actually bad for pollinators. Nature is messier than that.
Many native pollinators need old leaves, branches, loose bark or undisturbed soil in which to lay eggs or to overwinter in. Too much cleaning up might be killing off the very animals you need to create more food. And again, most pollinators need to find nesting areas and shelters within a few hundred meters of the flowers.
Find a spot somewhere in your garden and let a little wild in:
Let it be messy – don’t clean up that plant debris.
Let it be overgrown.
Let it have deep accumulations of leaves and debris that stays all winter and late into the spring.
Plant a row of perennial flowers in the middle of your annual vegetable garden to make sure there is a safe refuge that you won’t accidentally dig up.
(6) Don’t use chemicals
Many pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers used in agriculture and gardening actually kill pollinators.
Remember that we consider many of these chemicals “safe” for humans because our direct exposure is small and time limited. But if you are a tiny little bee or insect, and your JOB is visiting flower after flower after flower, then your exposure is often fatal.
We cannot afford to kill off pollinators. Everything is connected and too much of our human activities being done in the name of economics and profit is actually killing the very creatures we depend on for food and oxygen.
The world survived for millions of years without Syngenta, Dow, Monsanto and Dupont. But humans may not live to see the next century if companies like these succeed in killing off pests while taking the pollinators out with them. Learn to garden without chemicals, and support food producers who do the same.
(7) Give potted flowers instead of cut flowers
It’s such a little thing, but it can be the start of something wonderful! Encourage your friends to grow more flowers by giving a gift that keeps on giving.
The next special occasion that calls for flowers try picking out a nice potted variety at the garden center instead of cut flowers in a vase. The cost is often the same or less.
You never when a subtle nudge to grow more can help a person feel happier (with the mental and physical health benefits of gardening!) and support pollinators too.
BEE the Oasis!
None of the actions listed above are onerous or time consuming. With a few simple actions like growing some more flowers, adding some water, and practicing a little gratitude towards the hardworking animals that create our food and oxygen, you can help the pollinators trying to survive near you.
And in turn, they are helping you survive too.
Create a special spot for pollinators and then sit back and watch the show.
I never get tired of witnessing pollinators doing their thing. And I love the fruits of their labor!
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