Happy Earth Day 🌿
Happy Earth Day!
Plant Native Serviceberries For Pollinators
Mother Earth is feeding our early pollinators, serviceberries are starting to bloom! Just planted last fall, the Pollinator Garden at Holland Lake in Lebanon Hills Regional Park is already beginning to nurture our earliest pollinators - see the buds in the banner photo at the top.
The delicate flowers of the serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) start blooming in April and are an important early food source for hungry bees emerging from dormancy. Their red berries are pretty, attractive to birds, and edible too - use them in jams and jellies.
Dig Our Earliest Bees
Some of the first bees to emerge in the spring in Minnesota are Andrenidae, a species of mining bee - they "mine" in the earth for shelter. Mining bees are solitary, ground nesting bees and every single female is an egg layer.
The females lay an egg and provision it with bee bread, a mixture of pollen and nectar. The eggs hatch and grow underground to emerge the following spring. These spring bees are extremely efficient pollinators and 250 bees are as efficient as a hive of honey bees.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Your contribution plays a crucial role in our efforts to preserve and protect Lebanon Hills Regional Park for future generations. Every dollar you donate will support projects like Bike to Hike and our Turf to Pollinator Garden project, as well as other work to preserve and enhance our favorite park.