07
Apr

VIDEO: How to create a pollinator-friendly yard (and why you should care!)

Pollinators include bees, birds, ants, flies, beetles, bats and more.They play a critical role in our ecosystem by fertilizing plants to make fruit or seeds.

Pollinator health is essential to our global food supply. Sadly, 16.5% of bird and mammal pollinators and 40% of pollinating insects are currently threatened with extinction.

We can all help by creating a pollinator-friendly habitat in our yards. And a pollinator-friendly habitat attracts a variety of birds. Plants are a vital food source (berries, nectar, seeds) and pollinating insects are eaten by birds.

Here’s what you can do:

  1. Select native plants that are well-suited for your local conditions
  2. Reduce pesticide use:
    • focus on a healthy environment, not a perfect landscape
    • Keep plants healthy with compost and watering roots deeply but infrequently
    • Use natural pest control methods like companion planting and handpicking pests
  3. Provide a source of water for birds and other pollinators (shallow pond)
  4. Provide nesting sites:
    • Leave dead trees and branches in place
    • Plant native trees and shrubs
    • Bird houses Plant a diversity of plants that bloom at different times of the year to provide a continuous food source for a variety of birds and insects.

Additional questions? Ask the local backyard birding experts at any All Seasons Wild Bird Store.

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