Plant a Pollinator Garden
Planting a pollinator garden means that you plant a garden with native pollinators in mind. How? Research plants that live in your community, find garden stores that sell these native plants and plant them in your pollinator garden. Then wait and watch for native pollinators to come!
BEE very careful when you go to a large garden center because many do not sell local plants.
Don't Use Pesticides
Even if the bugs are bugging you, strong pesticides kill off more than just the pest your are trying to get rid of.
Build Nesting Sites
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You can create shelters for native pollinators in many ways. Create bee shelters for native bees that don't live in colonies. The shelters can be made from simple pieces of wood with holes cut into them. Plant native milkweed for monarch butterflies because they not only eat the nectar, but they lay eggs only on this type of plant. Plant a tree or shrub for hummingbirds. Their nests are hard to find
Sign a Petition / Make a Pledge
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You can sign a pledge to plant for wildlife and pollinators to let others know that we are taking action. You can also apply to certify or make a formal statement that our school is making a difference in protecting pollinators. See the links below:
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Let's Certify Our Garden: Find out how
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Pollinator Action
Design, Plan, and Plant a Pollinator Garden
Planning Resources
Plan for our Brooklyn Pollinators
Challenge:
You will research, design, plant and maintain a garden bed for our own Brooklyn pollinators.
Criteria:
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Do the math! We have 4 foot by 4 foot (4' x 4') raised beds. How many square feet of planting space is that?
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Find out how many square feet are in a 4' x 4' bed and create a Google Drawing showing each square foot.
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Research plants that are native to New York (see Planning Resources) and find out what pollinators they attract.
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Select at least 4 different plants for your raised bed and place the plant name and picture in each square foot on your Google Drawing.
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Explain why you chose each plant and what pollinators you will attract to our garden. Add photos to your Google Drawing for each pollinator.
Constraints (limitations):
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The garden receives full sun, so the plants you select must require full sunlight.
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We have no access to water, so the plants you select should be able to withstand dry conditions and should not require moist or swampy conditions.