Summer is here and it's the perfect time to explore the outdoors! Pollinators are vital to our ecosystem and can be so fun to study, attract, and talk about. Here are 5 of our favorite activities to help kids get excited about outdoor exploration and create safe spaces for pollinators.
Plant a Pollinator Garden
Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds all need plenty of nectar to survive. Flowers provide them with an abundance of nectar and in return, they help pollinate them. Select a sunny area in your yard and plant some pollinator attracting plants, bonus points if they are native!
Our favorite Pollinator attracting plants:
Guara
Penstemon
Salvia
Bee Balm
Coneflower
Catmint
Verbena
Milkweed
Coreopsis
Asters (Perennial Varieties)
Yarrow
Gaillardia
Cuphea
Zinnia
Petunia
2. Make a Bug Abode
Bees, Ladybugs, and Lightning Bugs all benefit from a safe place to rest! Rain, predators, and intense sun are all dangers to small pollinators. You can place empty bamboo shoots and dried out stems throughout your garden or paint your own Bug Abode! This is a fun project that is so helpful for our pollinator friends. They will seek refuge in them during times of stress and some might even hang out through the winter! Use a dry, clean paint brush to clean them in the spring for your next round of guests.
3. Paint a Butterfly House
Just like smaller pollinators, butterflies can benefit from a place to hide from predators and rest from the elements. However, they can't fit their majestic wings into a bug abode. Paint your own butterfly house! Butterfly houses have long, slit like openings for butterflies to enter. Place a log inside the house (there's usually an opening in the back or roof of them) for them to perch on. It is important to remember that butterflies will not live and make their chrysalis in these houses. They are there to provide temporary rest and respite during their normal day.
4. Make Your Yard Hummingbird Friendly
Hummingbirds are excellent pollinators! Plant flowers with cone like shaped petals that hummingbirds love to sink their beaks into. Salvias, Lantana, lobelias, bee balms, honeysuckles, and cupheas are some of their favorites. Add source of water and hang a perch for them to rest on. Don't forget your binoculars! These tiny, aerial acrobatic friends are so fun to watch zoom across your gardens!
5. Go on a Scavenger Hunt!
Grab your Backyard Scavenger Hunt, pencil, and magnifying glass and head outside! Mark down which pollinators are buzzing around and marvel at their busy work. We have found that early evening is a great time to see them pollinating, drinking water, or fluttering around.
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