Master Gardeners, homeowners and city come together for Year of the Pollinator

Have dandelions, clover and creeping Charlie in your yard?

You now have the perfect excuse to stop trying to control them and let them flourish, says Master Gardener Becki Lynch, the presence of these plants, traditionally considered weeds, helps bees and butterflies survive.

That's a goal so important the Linn County Master Gardeners have designated 2016 the 'Year of the Pollinator.' The numbers and health of the creatures that pollinate our crops are in decline — bee populations have dropped by 50 percent since World War I and the monarch butterfly population has decreased 90 percent in 20 years. Other butterfly species are on the national endangered list.

'They've been kind of under the radar, but it's time now to put them on top. They're what are known as keystone species. If they fail, we all fail,' Lynch said. 'They are necessary for the health of our planet.'

Two big culprits in the pollinator declines are pesticides and lack of habitat, which homeowners and public officials alike can work to address, Lynch said — and that's precisely what's happening in Linn County.

Throughout the year, the Linn County Master Gardeners will be focusing on public education and encouraging pollinator habitat development with activities ranging from formal presentations to highlighting pollinators at plant sales and garden walks.

The City of Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department is also getting involved, kicking off it's 1,000 Acres Initiative this year.

The program will seek to transform at least 1,000 acres of public land in Linn County into pollinator habitat.

In partnership with the Marion and Hiawatha Parks and Recreation departments, the department is looking at areas like the land around bike trails, landscaped patches of parks and public right-of-ways.

Some areas, like strips adjacent to the Sac and Fox Trail, already have tall grasses, but they're non-native species that don't have a lot of pollinator habitat value, said Cedar Rapids parks superintendent Daniel Gibbins said. Those areas can be converted to native grasses that do help butterflies and bees.

Other areas, like flower beds at golf courses, can be designed with flower mixes that specifically support pollinators.

'It really comes down to, we need to change a few things we're doing as a society. It's an example of how we can take public lands and be good stewards of them,' Gibbins said.

The goal is to turn Linn County into a 'pollinator corridor,' where butterflies and bees can find the habitat they need to thrive. For some species like monarchs, such corridors can help them survive migration. As they fly south, monarchs can struggle to make it through urban areas without habitat as well as large swathes of monoculture fields in rural areas. At least in Cedar Rapids, Gibbins wants to give them the habitat they need.

The initiative still is in the planning and fundraising stages, seeking $500,000 in grants and private fundraising, with a goal of beginning planting in 2017.

The goal is for corporations with green spaces and homeowners to also get involved to create a true corridor. Later this spring, the Linn County Master Gardeners will have an application available for homeowners who want their yards designated as 'pollinator zones.' To be designated, the homeowner needs to commit to converting 10 percent of their landscapable property to pollinator support.

'Simply speaking, to bring them back, it comes down to looking at what plants you're choosing,' Lynch said. 'If we choose pollinator plants, it's immediately going to improve their habitat. This could be for any size yard.'

She has created a course, 'Polliscaping,' on designing a pollinator-friendly yard. Part of it comes down to 'benign neglect.'

'We do so much mulching, so much mowing, so much pulling things we think are weeds but are actually pollinator host plants or that support larvae,' she said. 'We're proponents of taking a look around and leaving things be.'

That includes not cleaning up your yard too quickly in the spring — many pollinators overwinter in hollow stems and on the ground. Waiting until April when larvae have hatched to do spring raking and garden cleanup can make a difference.

And once you do start gardening, think about providing a diversity of flowers that bloom throughout the season. And yes, perhaps letting some weeds grow.

'The purple flower of creeping Charlie is one of the first nectar sources available for pollinators,' Lynch said. 'A number of butterflies and bees love white clover as a host plant for their larvae. And dandelions are a beautiful pollinator plant. That's one I cannot bring myself to love. You decide what you can and can't do — it's more to think about what you are doing and have a purpose in what you do. You can tailor your own property to what you like and how to maximize it for pollinators.'

Other plants like geraniums, coneflowers, milkweed, bergamot, hyssop, goldenrod and blue aster can help pollinators thrive.

'Most pollinators only travel between 300 yards and 1 mile in their entire life, which is your backyard and your neighbor's backyard,' Lynch said. 'If your backyard supports them, you'll have a family of pollinators that will live with you. It's something you can see and enjoy. You'll have butterflies and you'll have bumblebees, which don't sting. You can make a difference. That's what I love about it. You can see it.'

Planting for Pollinators

• Sun exposure: Most pollinator-friendly plants prefer sites that receive full sun throughout the day.

• Plant diversity: Choose a variety of plants with overlapping and sequential bloom periods to provide food for pollinators throughout the season.

• Habitat size and shape: Patches that are bigger and closer to other patches are generally better than those smaller and more isolated. However, even a small container garden can attract and support pollinators.

• Planting layout: Flowers clustered into clumps of one species will attract more pollinators than individual scattered plants.

Source: Xerces Society, xerces.org

Get Involved

Creative Gardening Series: Planting for Pollinators

Cedar Rapids Public Library, Whipple Auditorium, 450 Fifth Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids; free; 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays

Messy Fields Make Good Neighbors, April 14

Hear about the dilemmas and delights of being a Scott County farmer while attempting to make a living for family and treating the land as sustainably as possible. Robert Ewoldt of Rafter E Ranch will explain what practices he has adopted to improve his soil while providing competitive yields, including no-till farming, proper timing and placement of nutrients for crop utilization, cover crops and grassed waterways. He also will describe how he evaluates new practices and will chronicle some successes and challenges along the way.

Monarch Research Project & Monarch Zones, April 21

What are Monarch Zones? By working together, how can we, as a community, bring back our monarchs and their habitat quickly? Clark McLeod, co-founder of the Monarch Research Project, will give an overview of the research he and Cam Watts have conducted thus far and how it has led to 'Monarch Zones' and the Monarch Research Project. He will review the goals and purpose of the Monarch Research Project, and all the activities that will occur in 2016. Finally, he will provide ways that you, too, can be a part of this multicounty monarch and habitat restoration project.

EcoFest

NewBohemia neighborhood Cedar Rapids; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 23; ecofestcr.org

The event will include multiple pollinator-focused events, including:

• Design a Pollinator Habitat, 11 a.m., CSPS Hall. This program will give you solid information on pollinator's preferred habitats, what plants are sure to attract and sustain them and how to design a bed.

• Butterfliz of Iowa, 2 p.m., NewBo City Market. Live butterfly show presented by Alliant Energy.

• Film screenings at CSPS Hall, 'The Secret World of Gardens: Honey Bees,' 12 p.m. and 'Pollen Nation,' 12:45 p.m.

• Throughout the day: Milkweed seed ball making and 'Build Bee Bungalows.'

Interested in having a Master Gardener present on pollinators to your group or learning more about pollinators? Call the Hortline (319) 447-0647