You can help Mother Nature in a battle for survival. Pollinators, which provide one out of every three bites of our food, are struggling. Five butterfly species in the United States have gone extinct since 1950, and dozens more are on the verge of extinction according to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
”There are 30% fewer butterflies flying around in your yard, on the farm, in natural areas than there were 20 years ago,” says Scott Black, Xerces Society’s executive director. The monarch butterfly is in a steep decline having lost about 90% of its population in North America since the 1990s.
Bees aren’t faring any better. More than a quarter of North American bumblebees are at risk of extinction with both bees and butterflies declining by a shocking 1 or 2% a year, according to a report in the National Academy of Sciences.
“Will we have the crops that we need to sustain us?” asks Black, “It’s a very serious issue.”
Climate change, habitat loss and pesticide use are mostly to blame, say scientists. “It’s kind of this trifecta of threats that are really pushing pollinator populations down,” warns Black. But all is not lost.
“Anybody can help no matter how large or small their landscape- whether you live in a tiny yard or you’re a farmer or you manage a parks department,” says Black. “You can make real substantial changes for pollinators.”
Give to these pollinator charities
Non-profits like Xerces Society and Pollinator Partnership work with farmers, companies, private citizens and governments. They spread the word about pesticides’ impact on pollinators and encourage more eco-friendly approaches to pest control. The groups also encourage seeding native plants that attract pollinating fauna to agricultural fields, roadsides, parks and gardens.
With so many pollinating species facing an ecological tipping point, those non-profits and the others listed here need your donations to educate the public. Among the teaching programs offered by Pollinator Partnership: the Bee Smart School Garden Kit, an online planting guide called Bee Friendly Gardening , and Project Wingspan. Xerces Society runs the Bee City USA program and the Pollinator Protection Pledge to empower cities and individuals, helping nature’s pollinators thrive.
If you’d like to donate to pollinator charities below, click here.
But donations alone won’t solve the problem, says Black. He encourages turning your yard and garden into a welcoming place for butterflies, bees, beetles and birds.
Plant and they will come (even in winter)
Plant native wildflowers in your yard. “Contrary to popular belief, the fall and the winter can actually be a great time to plant and put down seed as well,” says Kelly Bills, executive director of Pollinator Partnership.
Not only will those flowers bring you joy throughout the year; native wildflowers are the best source of food and shelter for pollinators like bees and butterflies. When you plant flowers that are native to your region, they flourish with less watering and upkeep.
“Being cold does not matter as long as you can dig holes, get in the ground and get those plants established before a hard frost,” says Bills.
Some gardeners throw flower seeds on top of the snow, says Black. “Those seeds move right down and are just tied tightly to the soil. That water just draws them right down.”
Xerces and Pollinator Partnership provide growing guides that show you what to plant in your region based on your zip code, what colors you like, and what pollinators you enjoy. They also recommend planting a variety of species – some that will bloom in the early spring, and others in the fall so that wildlife has a source of food year-round, especially during migration when they need a lot of energy.
Bills planted salvias, mint, monkey flower and California poppies in her own wildflower garden this fall. “Salvias for butterflies and hummingbirds and anything in the mint family pollinators love.”
Having only turf lawn doesn’t help wildlife much. “Put in a few flowers and start to watch what comes to them,” urges Black. “You’ve got the beauty of the flowers and then you start to see the butterflies and bees interacting with those flowers. It’s actually magical.”
Leave the leaves for overwintering creatures
Fallen leaves are perfect nesting sites for native bees, moths and butterflies. “It’s a place for them to basically tuck away and get through the winter until spring,” says Bills.
Leaving the leaves doesn’t mean that you leave four inches of leaves on your turf grass.
“Maybe even just thinning them out and leaving them in some parts of your yard. You’re really gonna get that nutrition filtered back into your soil which will help your grass in spring and summer,” says Bills.
“A lot of caterpillars will get in leaf litter. So it’s better to rake rather than shred them,” adds Black.
You can also rake those leaves away from your grass onto your garden beds where it will help build the soil.
Similarly, leaving at least some bare ground (no grass or flowers) provides another place that native bees will nest, says Bills.
A little mess helps
You can help bees by cutting your dead flower heads off and leaving the stems.
“A lot of those stems become hollowed out and pithy and the bees actually hibernate in them over winter,” says Bills.
If you can’t stand how the stems look without flower heads, you can bundle cut stems and leave them on the side of the yard as nesting sites. Ecologists also encourage leaving some fallen branches and logs if you can for pollinators like beetles and bees to overwinter.
A little bit of untidiness goes a long way to helping creatures live in an increasingly man-made world.
“We tend to live our lives and build our communities in a way that excludes habitat for these animals,” says Black. “We have 40 million acres of turf grass in the United States and turf grass provides nothing for pretty much any animal.”
Avoid pesticides, encourage pests’ natural enemies
Pesticides and weed killers may kill what you don’t want in your yard, but they also kill off beneficial insects. It’s one of the leading causes of insect and pollinator die-off, says Black.
When it comes to homeowners, “Pesticides are mostly used for cosmetic purposes. They’re used to make your garden perfect. Do we need those perfect landscapes? I would say no,” says Black.
You should be able to control pests with non-chemical methods like planting native vegetation that not only attracts bees and butterflies but also draws pests’ natural enemies.
Native wildflowers, leaf cover and rotten logs draw lady beetles and the hover fly larva which are natural enemies of crop-destroying aphids, says Bills.
Lawns are hard to maintain, require a lot of water and toxic herbicide to look good and don’t do much for wildlife, says Black. Conservationists concerned about species die-off suggest turning over a little bit of your lawn at a time to native wildflowers and it will be easier to maintain than sod. “Take some part of your yard and give it back to wildlife,” urges Black.
Spread the word with yard signs
Your neighbors may begin to wonder why you are digging out grass and replacing it with wildflowers. Yard signs can let them know that you’re helping bees and butterflies. Those gardening signs are available with many memberships in pollinator charities along with planting guides. “Pollinator signs, no pesticides signs, ‘leave the leaves’ signs - that’s incredible education,” says Black.
You may be surprised the impact you have, especially within your own neighborhood. “Your little spot is meaningful on its own, but if we can get 100, 1,000, 10,000 in your community doing the same thing, then that’s incredible.”
Become a citizen scientist
You can also take part in seed collection and restoration projects to open up habitat near you. Pollinator Partnership’s Project Wingspan program trains citizens in the Midwest and Great Lakes region to collect and identify seeds. Volunteers learn to clean seeds and redistribute them in areas that need more habitat for the endangered monarch butterfly and rusty patched bumble bee. The non-profit is working to enhance and create 18,000 acres of habitat.
Xerces’ Bumblebee Watch and Bumblebee Atlas train volunteers to identify bumblebees in their area and submit pictures. “That helps us to identify where rare and declining bumblebees live so that we can help agencies put resources into that,” says Black.
Support farms that are pollinator-friendly
Try to buy food from farmers who grow their produce in ways that sustain butterflies and bees.
Xerces certifies food grown sustainably while maximizing crop health with the “Bee Better Certified” seal found on everything from blueberries to almond milk.
“If consumers are putting out the demand that they want food and produce from bee-friendly farms, that can be a big help to get other farmers on board,” says Bills.
You can also help with your pocketbook by buying organic products that keep pesticides out of the food chain.
“You can take so many actions in your own life that are both going to help pollinators and enrich where you live,” says Bills.
