Pollinator Conservation Saving Biodiversity in the North Coast
Are we loosing our pollinators?
Pollinators are essential to our environment. The ecological service they provide is necessary for the reproduction of over 85% of the world’s flowering plants, including more than two-thirds of the world’s crop species. They also pollinate the nuts and seeds that sustain most of our wild animals in Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.
Right now some of our pollinators like Crotch, Franklin’s, Suckley cuckoo and Western bumble bees and Behrens Silverspot and Monarch butterfly populations are disappearing at alarming rates. In order to save them we need to make some big changes. But, these big changes don’t have to be done on a large scale. Anyone can help with just a few simple actions. If we all just plant flowers for pollinators, we likely see them reappear.
Pollinator Habitat Restoration
The purpose of our pollinator conservation programs is to work with a diverse set of partners to restore and expand pollinator habitat through conducting outreach and on-the-ground conservation projects.
Our community pollinator panting projects are not restricted by age or knowledge. We work with young and old to help provide year-long flowers and high-quality pollinator habitats in both urban and agricultural areas. For nearly a decade these pollinator habitats have been enhancing native plant communities, promoting healthy wildlife populations, and supporting our agricultural systems
Conservation Works Pollinator Conservation Activities
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Bees
Bees are essential to the health of our environment and farms. Unfortunately, in many places, the essential service of pollination is at risk from habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced diseases.
For nearly a decade, Conservation Works' Bee Patches program has been planting resilient habitats with multi-season forage which can lessen the struggle of bees to survive.
Contact oona@conservationworksnc.org to find out how you can help protect our pollinators by planting a Pollinator Habitat Garden at your farm, school or community garden.
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Monarchs
Our habitat plantings nurture migrating Monarch butterflies as they travel through overwintering sites along the California coast.
In 2021, Conservation Works partnered with Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District to help offset the loss of monarch breeding habitat by planting regionally appropriate native milkweed species and nectar plants in all our pollinator habitat planting projects.
Contact alina@conservationworksnc.org to find out how you can help protect our monarchs by planting milkweed at your farm, school or community garden.
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Behrens Silverspot Butterfly
The Behren’s Silverspot Butterfly was listed as an endangered species in 1997 and is our own local butterfly living in coastal Sonoma and Mendocino counties. This beautiful butterfly survives in coastal terrace prairie/grassland habitat that contains its caterpillar’s host plant, western early blue violet, adult nectar sources, and suitable adult courtship areas.
In 2022, Conservation Works began partnering with Whynn Coastal Planning & Biology and the National Fish and Wildlife Service to serve as a partner to help recover this butterfly.
Contact oona@conservationworksn.org to find out how you can get involved. Photo Credit ,Clint Pogue/NFWS
Resources
Plant a Pollinator Garden
While each pollinator has a specific need to support each stage of its lifecycle, they all need high-quality habitat that provides an abundance of flowers, shelter and nesting sites, and protection from pesticides.
Plant Food in the form of abundant flowering plants that provide access to pollen and nectar throughout the growing season Plant Flowers with this Ecoregional Planting Guide
Provide access to shelter and nesting sites including host plants for butterflies like Milkweed for Monarch butterflies or Western Dog Violet for Behrens butterfly, pithy stems and dead wood for cavity-nesting bees, and bare earth for ground-nesting bees. Nesting and Overwintering
Provide access to water: Monarchs need dirty water to satisfy their mineral needs and bees need water to drink
Protection from pesticides that kill non-target insects and degrade habitat by removing or contaminating flowering plants
Help monitor pollinator populations
Help save Monarch Butterflies: Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program
Join a community of naturalists or birders: iNaturalist , Seek eBird
Find more community science projects at SciStarter or CitizenScience
Help Monarch Butterflies
Help Bumble Bees
Plant Early Blooming Flowers - Plant List from Xerces, Native Seed Directory
Allow Dandelions and Clover to Live Longer in Your Yard - These weeds provide important early blooming resources for bumble bees
Help Your Yard Be Wild - Bumble bees like to nest in hollow logs, spaces in rock walls, under bunch grasses, in birds' nest boxes...etc. Nesting and Overwintering
Track Bumble Bees - Join this fun community science tracker Bumble Bee Watch
Plan for Fall with Food and Habitat Resources - Prepare your site for fall blooms and participate in the Leave the Leaves campaign