A recent project outside our warehouse is the restoration of our garden area, with a focus to build towards plants that contribute to the success of a pollinator garden. By using donated pots and gardening supplies, we have the values of reuse and recycling as the focus for the project.
Pollinator gardens play an important role in promoting environmental health and ecological resilience. The benefits of pollinator gardens in urban settings allow for purer air and water, as well as attracting pollinators to an area. These gardens are easy to implement and develop, especially in urban areas. Pollinator gardens support plants that attract pollinators by providing plentiful food in the forms of nectar and pollen. The resources these gardens supply attract not only bees, but birds and butterflies. Plants that are effective for pollinator gardens are purple coneflowers, goldenrods, lavender, sunflowers, foxgloves and other plants that contain colors that attract bees. Deeper colors such as purple, violet and blue have been scientifically proven to attract bees and promote biodiversity in a healthy garden.
There are many different scales that these gardens can be developed in, with an emphasis on community engagement. The smaller gardens that are present in a city positively impact the environment as a whole. Providing pollinators with more options for shelter and food will increase the population. The majority of plants need pollinators to carry out typical functions correctly and grow in a healthy manner; more than Eighty percent of all plants in the US require a pollinator in order to reproduce. Incentivizing the longevity of these insects is important in ensuring our future, having diverse gardens provides a habitat space for animals and increases biodiversity. Healthier species contribute to an environment's resilience and ability to regulate itself. By preventing bottlenecking of local gene pools in native species, we are able to have flourishing wildlife in our communities. This effective way to preserve many aspects of the natural world is key to bettering the quality of life for both people and the pollinators we are providing for.
Living in urban areas is often the cause of the decline of biodiversity and the wellbeing of pollinators. Developing new properties often destroys habitat space for wildlife in the process. As we further urbanize and limit our space, it is important to acknowledge that we are taking space from species of animals that serve our environment in a long-lasting way. We harm our ecological health when taking this land away from our environment. Space for wildlife to flourish in a city from a successful garden promotes the mutual wellbeing of both people and animals. By planting a pollinator garden, we are fighting back for our environment and for the betterment of our future!
Interested in helping with the RG pollinator garden? Have plants or garden tools to donate? Contact Executive Director, Catena Bergevin, catena@reconsideredgoods.org.