Practical Steps to Protect our Pollinators!
There’s a lot of buzz around bees lately! (Sorry, had to.) California’s pollinators are struggling, and so are our ecosystems. Last year, native bees in San Diego County were pushed to the brink, with honey bees claiming almost all of the pollen “market share,” depriving native bees of vital resources.
Meanwhile, at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary, a mass die-off of monarch butterflies in early 2024 was directly linked to deadly pesticide exposure.
Did you know Los Angeles is attempting to become a bee city? Our friend Marie Massa who spearheaded the amazing Lincoln Heights Native Plant Corridor has been encouraging LA community members to support this effort led by the Xerces Society. Read more about it, sign the petition, and email the city’s decision makers HERE.
At Plant Community LA, our commitment to planting California native, diverse, pesticide-free habitats is more than just aesthetic. There are steps we can all take to help turn our gardens into life-support systems for California’s struggling pollinators:
Planting stage:
Leave bare ground for ground-nesting bees
Plant specific habitat plants for monarchs, like milkweed, without using pesticides
Plant a diversity of blooming plants that bloom in sequence, so there is always beneficial habitat.
Incorporate water features or water sources to help support pollinators.
Maintenance stage:
Leave bare ground for ground-nesting bees.
Don’t prune at the first signs of dormancy.
Build shelters and nesting sites, like piles of logs, or stacks of rocks (lizards also love a good log pile!)
Allow leaves to pile up for ground-dwelling insects, don’t rake too soon!
The critical threats of competition from non-native pollinators and pesticide exposure jeopardize native pollinators and the native plant communities we all love.
Every patch of native garden is an act of resistance against pollinator decline! Together, we can turn our neighborhoods into thriving pollinator corridors.
Sign up to volunteer with Plant Community LA to make positive changes, together!