November 9, 2017 at 4:42 p.m.
Courthouse pollinator garden part of Bayer grant
Courthouse pollinator garden part of Bayer grant
The project was made possible through a grant from Bayer. It is part of the Bayer North America Bee Care Program. This major initiative looks to establish forage for bees and other pollinators across the country by funding the planting of wildflowers and forage acreage for those pollinators. The Feed a Bee program has distributed over 3 billion wildflower seeds for the purpose of increasing forage for pollinators to date.
Oneida County Land and Water Conservation applied for a $5,000 grant from the Feed a Bee Program. Land and Water received the grant and is using it to create educational gardens in four locations. One of those locations, the Healing Center in Three Lakes, has already been planted. The courthouse location was prepped this year and will be planted next year, as was the case with the Three Lakes Historical Society site. Another site at the Three Lakes Center for the Arts will be planted next year as well.
The grant from Bayer will fund educational signage at each location. It will also pay for open houses to be held at the Oneida County Courthouse location as well as the Three Lakes Historical site and the Three Lakes Center for the Arts garden.
According to the Bayer Crop Science website, the initiative has funded 93 products in 36 states as well as Washington D.C. Grant rewards vary between $1,000 and $5,000.
Bayer has a 25-year history of providing products to combat bee diseases. The company also has an eye on stewardship by using seed-applied insecticides or seed treatments that help growers increase yields while limiting the amount of harmful insecticides that leach into the environment.
Next year, the remaining three pollinator garden sites will be planted with signage completed to help educate garden visitors as to the importance of pollinators and pollinator gardens. Oneida County pollinator coordinator Baerbel Ehrig said pollinator gardens can be planted in nearly any yard.
It does not take a great deal of room and native plantings can make a great addition to any outdoor living space, she said. It does not take much time for pollinators to find a new planting, as was evidenced by the pollinator garden planted as part of the Roadside Pollinator Garden project at the Three Lakes Winery.
The garden was planted in spring and by late summer, Ehrig found two monarch butterfly caterpillars enjoying the space.
Having more gardens across the landscape allow pollinators to find the right food sources at the right time of year to keep them healthy. Those looking for more information about pollinators and pollinator gardens can find information on the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department website, or by calling or stopping in to the department located in the zoning office in the Oneida County Courthouse.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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