Pollinator Seminar, Pollinator Census This Month in Lavonia

A special seminar is coming up later this month in Gainesville for anyone interested in learning more about how to attract pollinators to their gardens.

The workshop is being facilitated by Monarchs Across Georgia (MAG) in partnership with the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts (GACD) and takes place Saturday, August 21 at the Linwood Nature Preserve, 118 Spring View Drive in Gainesville.

Workshop topics will include the process of pollination, key Georgia pollinators and the role of pollination in agriculture as well as methods for teaching about pollinators in a classroom setting.

Barbara Payne is the volunteer coordinator for the Betty’s Garden at Lavonia Elementary School.

The garden is a pollinator garden designed to teach children and adults about the importance of providing the right habitat for pollinators.

Payne said we are losing pollinators due to urban growth and pollution. So, it’s important people understand how to provide spaces for pollinator habitat.

“Betty’s Garden is a designated “Wildlife Viewing Site” for the DNR, which showcases milkweed, the only plant that a monarch will lay eggs on. Females will lay up to 400 eggs in the wild, on one milkweed leaf at a time,” she explained. “Therefore, monarchs are desperate to find milkweed that is now gone from roadsides and farm edges. Everybody needs to know about this crisis and help reestablish milkweed in our landscapes, whether in gardens or flower pots. It has been scientifically proven that when planting for monarchs, other native insects benefit as well. And, it has been proven that when working on restoring habitat in communities, people come together for the greater good. This is a project that can involve everybody. Plants can be established in plastic tubs or beautifully designed landscapes. Simple or not so simple.”

Pollinator insects, such as bees and butterflies, are also important according to Payne because help keep Georgia’s agriculture industry going.

Payne said this past year, students tending Bettys Garden planted four growing beds with seeds that demonstrate the relationships between pollinators and food.

“Betty’s Garden is excited about the beautiful plants that have been installed to support the life cycles of monarch butterflies and native pollinators. The garden is in partnership with the State Botanical Garden and the Connect to Protect program and our goal is to develop pollinator habitats across the landscapes of homes and businesses in Lavonia and Franklin County,” Payne said. “Students planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers in the beds where they were able to observe the buzzing activities of pollinators.”

She said there are many flowers people can plant in their own gardens to attract pollinators

On Friday, August 20, Payne and students will be counting pollinating insects in Betty’s Garden and the public is invited to help to submit for a statewide pollinator census.

Developed by Georgia Extension Specialist, Becky Griffin the pollinator census invites the public to take 15 minutes and count the number of pollinators they see in their gardens.

Insects that can be counted include Carpenter bees, Bumblebees, Honey bees, wasps, butterflies, and moths.

For more information on the pollinator seminar in Gainesville you can go online to https://www.gacd.us/events.

And for info on the pollinator census, you can go online to https://ggapc.org/.

“We hope that folks from the community will attend the workshop in Gainesville and assist Betty’s Garden with spreading the word about pollinator decline and assist community program development,” she concluded.