Paying Homage to Pollinators

Pollinators are the integral, intrinsic force behind creation. Bees, wasps, flies, ants, beetles, ladybugs, hornets, even birds – all fertilize flowers into fruition. Without this essential group of insects and beings, we likely wouldn’t exist or survive very healthily.

These insects are diverse, just like us. When the word “pollinators” comes up, we typically think of bees, butterflies, and maybe wasps. But there are many more species that contribute to fertilizing our plants. Take hummingbirds, for example, transferring pollen from one flower to another with their long beaks. Or even mice, their paws dusted with pollen as they reach between delectable dandelions. Dragonflies also assist pollination. There are many beings that assist in the completion of a plant’s life cycle.

I recently helped create a pollinator garden as a school and community project. This involved preparing the ground first, which was layered with cardboard, straw, newspaper, and manure to create a “lasagna”-type garden bed, and then planting seeds and small plant starts into the soil. The flowers and plants that were seeded and cultivated were all native to this area, such as pearly everlasting, showy milkweed, fireweed, and columbine. There were also native grasses planted as well to fill in the spaces between wildflowers.

Pollinator gardens are a bit like an oasis for bees and other insects and animals, a natural Eden. The gardens can provide habitat, food sources, and a safe place for species at risk. Wild and domesticated bee populations have been collapsing because of the lack of diversity in crops – monocrops often dominate land as far as the eye can see, with fields of only one plant, such as canola, cherries, or wheat. But pollinator gardens ensure a diverse group of plants, much like what would be found in an alpine meadow.

I hope that the world can perhaps wake up to this monotony of our food production and be inspired by the natural world. In forests and other wild places, flowers are scattered here and there, messily with an aesthetic of creative randomness, where pollinators have many different species of plants to pollinate. Maybe we don’t always need things to be perfect, in straight rows and square fields. Maybe we should take some inspiration from nature and be a bit more messy, a bit less immaculate.

After all, none of us humans are perfect, and it’s hard to embrace that, but if we all saw a bit of the unapologetic authenticity of nature, maybe it would put us more at ease to adopt that. And as a plus side, our pollinators – and likely all beings on earth – would benefit.

I suggest taking some time to thank these creatures that nurture our crops and ourselves – perhaps by planting native wildflowers in your lawn or garden, or scattering seeds hither and thither. We need diversity in our lives to remind us that there is not one way of being, or one correct solution, and perhaps pollinators can guide us towards that integral multiplicity.

For my next blog post, I’ll share photos of butterflies, another important pollinator. Until then, stay tuned!