Have you ever wondered how to attract more bees and butterflies to your garden? Nancy Donovan will be giving a presentation detailing how residents can support local pollinators at the Windham Public Library from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 23.
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| Windham Public Library will have the Observing Pollinators Kit available following a free presentation by Master Gardener Nancy Donovan about attracting pollinators from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, June 23 at the library. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
“It’s funny how things come around” says Donovan, recalling her childhood. “I remember my mother having a garden and I would laugh so hard when she’d go out and count the flowers on her tomato plants. As an adult, I had to have tomato plants.” She credits Maine’s pollinators – bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, birds, and even bats –for the success of her tomatoes and wants the community to be mindful of the crucial role pollination plays in our food production systems country-wide.
According to the USDA, three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. The added revenue to crop production from pollinators is valued at $18 billion.
“The food we eat is available because of the actions of pollinators. And pollinators – of every type – are on the decline.” Donovan notes habitat loss and environmental contaminants as factors in this decline as she coveys the importance of supporting the creatures that make farming possible.
“If we don’t pay attention to our bees, we’re going to be up a creek without a paddle,” she said. Donavan said she hopes to impart this message during her presentation and outline tangible ways to help reverse the decline in one’s own backyard.
As a Master Gardener, part of Donovan’s mission is to educate and mentor gardeners in the community, much as she was mentored by the University of Maine Extension educators and horticultural experts who facilitate the training that is required to become a Master Gardener.
Interns like Donovan who participate in Maine’s Master Gardener Program receive roughly 65 hours of intensive training.
Says Donovan of her time in the program, “There’s that saying ‘you learn from your mistakes, and I don’t want to learn from my mistakes. I want to learn from other people’s mistakes. Why not take your lessons from the best of the best in the state of Maine?”
Sally Bannen, the Technical Services Librarian at the Windham Public Library who has organized the upcoming presentation, plans on showcasing a newly purchased Observing Pollinators Kit, made available through a grant from the National Library of Medicine. The kit, which includes guides, a clipboard, a stopwatch, binoculars, and other items, will be available for checkout after the talk.
Using the items in the kit, one observes pollinators on a given plant for a specified amount of time and then logs their observations online where scientists can make use of the data. Avid bird watchers may be familiar with this type of citizen science, i.e. science that requires public participation and collaboration to expand our current knowledge of the world around us.
“Windham used to be a farming community, and I think we still have a lot of interest in agriculture in this area,” says Bannen. “I thought this might be a good kit because I know there are several beekeepers in the area.”
Bannen said that the Pollinator Presentation will include content applicable to anyone, even those new to gardening. Prior experience is not necessary, agrees Donovan and says that helping pollinators is in everyone’s best interests. After all, “Who doesn’t like a flower?”
The talk is appropriately timed as this year’s National Pollinator Week will take place June 16 to June 22.
For further details about the Exploring Maine Pollinator Gardens presentation, please contact Sally Bannen at 207-892-1908, ext 7. <
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