SAN ANTONIO – This is Pollinator Week — a time to celebrate birds, bats, bees, beetles and butterflies.
Even if you’re not a bat or bug person, your life is still directly affected by pollinators every single day.
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“Pollinators play an important role in our ecosystems and food systems,” said Luke Metzger, Executive Director of Environment Texas. “This Pollinator Week, we’re doubling down on our pledge to do all we can to protect our precious pollinators that help make our flowers bloom and trees bear fruit.”
Environment Texas is urging local residents to create healthy pollinator habitats, not just during this celebratory week, but throughout the year.
Here are three tips Environment Texas suggests for creating a pollinator habitat:
- Cut back on mowing your lawn
- Set aside parts of your yard for pollinator-friendly plants
- Avoid using pesticides
Pesticides can have devastating effects on pollinators like bees and butterflies, even if they aren’t the intended target.
“Neonic pesticides, which have been linked to bee die-offs, also impact other pollinators, including butterflies and birds, and contribute to their population decline. It’s time to ban neonics,” said Metzger.
“Texas will be buzzing with activity during National Pollinator Week, raising awareness about the vital role bees play in pollinating every third bite of food and the need to protect these powerful pollinators,” said Metzger. “To save our busy little buddies, we need to restrict the use of bee-killing pesticides as soon as possible.”
Want to know more about pollinators and what you can do to help? Pollinator.org has a tool kit full of ideas about how to get involved and celebrate some of nature’s most precious pollinators.
Pollinator Weeks runs from June 20-26.