{"id":7179,"date":"2017-07-29T17:49:32","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T21:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/?page_id=7179"},"modified":"2023-08-05T11:15:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T15:15:33","slug":"protecting-pollinators-with-a-non-toxic-yard","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/zero-waste-main-page-2\/protecting-pollinators-with-a-non-toxic-yard\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Pollinators with a Non-Toxic Yard"},"content":{"rendered":"

“They are perhaps Earth\u2019s most unsung heroes: the bees, butterflies, wasps, flies, and other organisms that maintain balanced ecosystems and thus the health of our food supply through pollination. Native insects, in fact, play a crucial role in pollinating and fertilizing up to 75 percent of plant species on earth, and up to a third of our staple food crops rely upon insects alone to disperse their pollen and fertilize their fruits. Imagine a world without coffee, chocolate, apples, and many other foods that are part of our daily lives. That world likely becomes reality without pollinators.” <\/i>A Guide to Pollinators at Seedsavers.org<\/a><\/p>\n

The bad news is that pollinators, so important to biological diversity and our food supply, are threatened worldwide<\/a>. The good news is that individuals can play an important role in protecting pollinators. It is simple, rewarding, and important.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Grow a variety of pollinator-friendly flowers that bloom from spring through fall.<\/li>\n
  2. Don’t forget to plant caterpillar host plants<\/a>. including dill, parsley, Queen Anne’s lace, milkweeds, asters, ironweed and mallows. There are many lists online.<\/li>\n
  3. Avoid using pesticides, especially insecticides.<\/li>\n
  4. Consider adding a nest for native bees<\/a> to your garden.\"\"<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What to grow:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    See the Living Green in Needham list of recommended garden plants<\/a><\/p>\n

    MonarchWatch.org has a list of plants<\/a> for butterfly and pollinator gardens in the Northeaster United States.<\/p>\n

    Register your Yard:<\/p>\n

    Become part of the Pollinator Pathway<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Take the Pollinator Protection Pledge from the Xerces Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Removing Invasive Plants:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Invasive plants are not only a nuisance — they crowd out native plants and can interfere with wildlife. Perhaps you noticed in your yard a pesky vine that grows on fences, and twists around shrubs and perennials, developing long green pods that produce wind-borne seeds. This is a swallow-wort<\/a>, which is related to milkweed and may interfere with monarch butterfly reproduction.<\/p>\n

    Check out Mass Audubon’s list of common Massachusetts invasives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Local invasive plants include glossy buckthorn (grows as a deciduous shrub or a small tree up to 20 feet tall), garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed (heart-shaped leaves and white flowers, forms dense stands that crowd out other plants), and black swallow-wort (vine with narrow seed pods similar to milkweed).<\/p>\n

    Updated August 2023.<\/p>\n

    Resources<\/p>\n

    Documents<\/h5>\n\t\t