Conservation of Minneapolis Bees Project
A City that Works - Pollinator Project
National Pollinator Week 2018
Free "seedles" at certain Minneapolis Farmers Markets during Pollinator Week (June 18, 2018 - June 24, 2018) while supplies last. Seedles are wildflower seed balls that help provide healthy plants - food and shelter for pollinators - in your yard and boulevard. Also don't forget to pick up pollinator plants or seeds from Mother Earth Garden if you participated in the Pollinator Points Survey.
Pollinator Points Program Citizen Survey
The Pollinator Point Program Survey will be open from May 14, 2018- May 18, 2018. This year each participant will receive a voucher for five perennial that can be picked up at Moth Earth Garden's located at 3738 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Plants can be picked up at this location during the weekend of National Pollinator week, Friday, June 22, 2018 - Sunday, June 24, 2018. The plants are first come first served. After all plant stock is gone wild flower seed bombs and pollinator patch gardens will be made available. After all the information from the survey is compiled, results of the survey will be posted by the end of summer 2018.
The link to the survey can be found here. Results from the survey will be posted here in the Summer of 2018.
The C.O.M.B Project Mission
Mayor Hodges and the City Council passed a resolution calling attention to the dwindling local bee population in the City of Minneapolis. As a part of this resolution, the Environmental Services unit of the Health Department has created a website on how to create pollinator habitat and pollinator friendly practices. These resources should help pave the way for a more pollinator friendly community in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Pollinator Resolution
The Value of a Pollinator
- Bees are the most famous pollinators. Other pollinators are butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, wasps, and some birds.
- One-third of the food and drink produced in the United States depends on pollinators.
- Pollinators keep plant communities healthy which in turn keeps our communities healthy.
- More than $20 billion worth of annual products in the U.S. are produced by pollinators.
Problems for Pollinators
- Loss and Fragmentation of Habitat - pollinators are threatened because many areas where they feed and nest have been destroyed. Some key pollinators only forage 100 feet from their nests.
- Disease and Parasites - many native bees are affected by parasites and disease carried by commercial bees that are moved from place to place.
- Pesticides - areas being treated with chemical pesticides create a hazardous environment for pollinators trying to forage for food or nest in chemically treated soils.
- For more information about issues pollinators are facing check out Major Threats to Pollinators through the Great Pollinator Project or this Fact Sheet: The Economic Challenge Posed by Declining Pollinator Populations that the White House posted.
The Four Steps to Creating Pollinator Habitat
Step 1: Assessment
Collect information about the size, soil, the sun exposure, plants already present, and chemical treatment history.
Identify what pollinators are present and what plants they seem to be gravitating to. This can help with plant selection.
Here is a link that the Xerces Society has created to help owners assess natural areas and rangelands. It also helps guide what should be down when restoring a site.
Step 2: Preservation
Protect habitat and pollinators by avoiding or limiting the use of pesticides on the area. Some tips when using chemical treatments:
- Use chemicals without neonicotinoids
- Use chemicals with pollinator protection box
- Use less harmful alternatives such as organic-approved pesticides or pollinator friendly pest control.
- For more information about pesticides management visit managing pesticides to protect bees provided by the Xerces Society.
Step 3: Creation
When buying plants, ask your vendor if the plants and seeds were chemically treated. If a plant is treated with chemicals, it could potentially hurt pollinators. Beyond Pesticides provides a list of places that sell pollinator friendly seeds and plantings.
Pick a diversity of different native plant species of plant ranging with flowers varying in shape, color, length, and size. These difference help draw different kinds of pollinators.
Plant species that bloom in fall, spring, and summer. This will provide foraging areas throughout the seasons for different pollinators.
Leave spaces of bare area and plant native grasses to provide nesting material for bees. One can also create artificial nests to promote the bee population. The Xerces Society has created a link that shows how to create different types of nests for native bees.
Some great native plant lists can be found through the U of M, the U of M Bee Squad, the Xerces Society, and Prairie Moon Nursery.
Step 4: Maintenance
Watering needs vary if seeds or transplants were used on a site. Transplants should be watered the first year depending on the condition of the site. As for seedlings, regular irrigation for the first few months can help promote growth.
Make sure to weed the areas that are going to have plants beforehand and continue to do so then the plants are installed.
Special Consideration Sites
Roadside Restoration
When dealing with roadside, invasive species have to be controlled and eradicated as much as possible before planting. Planting native plants that are already seen in the area may help push out and control invasive.
Make sure to use pollinator-friendly practices when it comes to treating invasive species. See above for details.
Information about Roadsides and a plant selector based on your assessment of the area:
- Best Management Practices for Roadsides and Right-Of-Ways - MN DOA
- Plant Selector for Roadside Plantings - MNDot
Lawn care
Leave clover and dandelions in your yard to provide foraging areas for bees.
Be conscious of how often and when you mow your lawn. Mowing every other week, and not mowing during blooming times, will benefit local pollinators.
Thinking about a lawn care service? Make sure you discuss your interest in conserving pollinators and their habitat with them.
Additional Resources
Minneapolis takes action to protect dwindling local bee population
What’s the Buzz? Raising Bees in the City of Minneapolis
Minnesota's Pollinators - MN DNR
Minnesota Pollinator Resources - MN DNR
Pollinator Best Management Practices for MN Yards and Gardens - MDA
Pollinator Conservation Resources - Great Lakes Region - Xerces Society
Landscaping with Native Plants - MN DNR
Pollinator Biology and Habitat - Natural Resource Conservation Service
If you have questions please call Tiana Cervantes at 612-673-3515 or email [email protected]
Accommodations
Should you require a reasonable accommodation in order to fully participate, or information in an alternative format, please contact 612-673-2301.
Para asistencia 612-673-2700 - Rau kev pab 612-673-2800 - Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 612-673-3500.
Last updated Oct 30, 2018
