Adding pollinator spaces to your community or school garden is a fabulous idea. If you are a food grower, more pollinators means more pollination and increased food production! Even if you aren’t growing food the benefits of attracting native bees, butterflies, and even honey bees are numerous.
UGA’s Center for Urban Agriculture has created the Pollinator Spaces Project. The mission is to make it easy to add pollinator habitat to any sized garden. The process is easy:
Step #1 Learn
Learn about pollinators and pollinator plants using the Pollinator Spaces Project webpage. The page includes a research-based plant list as well as links to pollinator events around the state and instructions on building bee homes and butterfly puddles.
Step #2 Create
Create your pollinator space. Your garden can be as simple or as detailed as you want to make it.
Step #3 Share
Once your garden is complete and blooming send Becky Griffin (beckygri@uga.edu), our community and school garden coordinator, a photo of your new space. Be creative. If you work in a school garden, get your students in the picture. When sending your photograph include some information about your garden. You will then receive a beautiful certificate acknowledging your participation in this part of Georgia pollinator history.
At the end of 2016 we will create a map of Georgia showing the new pollinator spaces and we will design a storyboard telling the story of the project. We will also feature new garden spaces during the year on our UGA Community and School Gardens Facebook page.
During the year we will be sharing pollinator facts, tips, and information through the webpage and the Facebook page. So stay tuned!
Make 2016 the year YOU help pollinators by adding a pollinator space to your garden. For more information about the project contact Becky at beckygri@uga.edu. If you want more information on creating a garden unique to your area your local UGA Extension agent is a great resource.
Happy Gardening!
Becky is a Georgia Certified Beekeeper and works with community and school gardeners to increase beneficial insect habitat.She is the coordinator of the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, happening this year on August 19th and 20th, 2022.She is also part of UGA's Native Plants and Beneficial Insect Working Group.
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What is that gorgeous sunflower/rudbeckia looking like plant in the photo? Looks perfect for hot humid GA weather!
Remarkable how a few well placed pollinators can increase your food yield and taste! Very excited about the Pollinator Spaces project!
Just learned of your project Becky . Our community garden at Blackburn park is putting in 3 pollinator gardens this year. We will definitely be in touch.
The community garden at Blackburn Park is very special. I can’t wait to see what you all do!