Pollinator Week 2017

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Starting today through the 25th is this year's Pollinator Week -- at least in my area. This week is to shed light on the threats facing pollinators, and what we can do to help these micro-animals. While there are many different pollinators like bats and hummingbirds, this collage features two pollinating insects -- bumblebees and butterflies. Pollinators are essential for pollinating plants, which many other animals - including us - depend on for food. In fact, one out of every three bites of food we eat was pollinated by an animal.

My local zoo has successful breeding programs for two Pacific Northwest butterflies: the Oregon silverspot (center image, top row) and the Taylor's checkerspot (right image, center row). If you like to find out how they work, feel free to read about them here or here. On the other hand, the Oregon Zoo works with the Xerces Society to search for existing populations of bumblebees.

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Why are butterflies in trouble?

Because of their complex life cycles and interdependent relationships with plants, butterflies are especially vulnerable to habitat loss, toxins, invasive species and climate change. Over the past century in the U.S., vast areas of meadow and grassland butterfly habitats have been converted for housing, agriculture and industrial development, leaving many populations in isolated pockets. Climate change has also been linked to butterfly population declines, for instance by altering the seasonal availability of host plants on which caterpillars depend.  

Why are bumblebees in trouble?

Many bumblebee populations have drastically declined in recent years. In some regions, they have completely disappeared. While the exact cause of decline remains a mystery, scientists believe that habitat destruction, pesticides, invasive species, climate change and diseases spread through commercial bumblebee operations are all to blame. When these factors combine, they become even deadlier. The decline of North American bumblebees is part of a larger global pollinator crisis that threatens food production for humans and countless species of wildlife.

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Here are 12 different ways to help bumblebees and butterflies

 1) Check the safety of your lawn care products with the Grow Smart app

Garden products like pesticides and fungicides can harm wildlife - not just garden pests - and pollute the environment. The Grow Smart app ranks hundreds of products to take the guesswork out o finding  nontoxic yard solutions, and includes tips on how to conserve water, attract beneficial wildlife and keep a kid-friendly yard. Get the app here.

 2) Become a Wildlife Partner through the Oregon Zoo Foundation**

The Wildlife Partners program offers individuals the opportunity to financially support and advance the Oregon Zoo's on-the-ground efforts to fight extinction. Since 1998, donor support has helped fund local and global conservation projects protecting species ranging from butterflies to rhinos. Find out how you can get involved. While recommended, you actually don't need to be an Oregonian to do this.

**This action helps butterflies.

 3) Landscape your property with wildlife-friendly plants

Eliminating invasive weeds and including wildlife-friendly plants in your backyard or landscaping provides excellent food and shelter for the birds, amphibians, pollinators and other species native to your area. Many native plants also thrive without the need for much care, saving water, energy, time and money, all while showcasing the natural beauty in your region.

 4) Purchase organic produce, especially for the "dirty dozen"

Choosing organic produce helps keep pesticides from harming pollinating insects, birds and other wildlife. Consumers on a budget can prioritize their organic purchases based on which produce have the highest pesticide residues. The "dirty dozen" includes peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes.

 5) Make your own non-toxic cleaners

Using cleaners made from everyday ingredients like baking soda, rubbing alcohol and vinegar helps keep pollutants out of waterways and the air. Store-bought products used to clean laundry, surfaces and dishes often contain chemicals that can poison wildlife and contaminate ecosystems. Get cleaner recipes here.

 6) Become a volunteer naturalist

Depending on where you live, wildlife abounds in your area. As a volunteer naturalist, you can help kids and adults in your area connect with the natural world, and become inspired to protect it.

 7) Consider purchasing renewable energy

Not everyone can install rooftop solar panels, but consumers have more options than ever before for purchasing renewable energy through their utility. Renewable sources like wind, low-impact hydro and landfill gas can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants that impact wildlife from the Arctic to the tropics. Contact your utility to make the switch to wildlife friendlier energy.

 8) Adjust your thermostat by two degrees

A difference of two degrees may not be noticeable in your living room, but it is in the Arctic. Small thermostat adjustments - higher in summer and lower in winter - reduce your energy consumption and your contribution to greenhouse gas pollution, which threatens wildlife and habitats worldwide. Adjusting your thermostat even more at night saves additional energy.

 9) Replace your light bulbs with LEDs*

Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs don't just last longer and use less energy than conventional light bulbs, their manufacturing process is also more wildlife-friendly. Compared to incandescent and compact fluorescent bulb production, LEDs generate less waste and pollution and require fewer resources. Advances in LED technology have also made them more affordable, which makes switching even easier.

*This action helps bumblebees

 10) Volunteer at a native plant center

By volunteering at a native plant center, you can help propagate native plants used to replace invasive species, stabilize stream banks and create wildlife habitat at restoration sites throughout your region. Volunteers learn and experience the full spectrum of plant nursery work, from harvesting seeds and potting seedlings to transplanting plants.

 11) Turn off your car when you stop for more than ten seconds.

Turning off your car might be the easiest way to reduce your vehicles impact on the environment. Idling not only wastes fuel, it creates greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants that affect wildlife worldwide. turn off your car whenever you stop for more than ten seconds at airports, bridge and railroad crossings and schools. The one exception is when you're in street traffic, where stopping is illegal in some states due to safety concerns. Instead of waiting at drive-thrus, park and go inside.

 12) Become a Cascades Pika Watch volunteer

Pikas are considered a climate change indicator species. By monitoring pikas and collecting data, Cascades Pika Watch volunteers can help biologists determine population size, population declines and how those declines may be reversed. This data can also benefit other species that are negatively impacted by climate change. Sign up here.

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And that does it for this year's Pollinator Week collage. I know that there are many more actions than usual, but they will help bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Be sure to do some of these yourself. We still got a long way to go, but we must get through it.

All images and information are from www.oregonzoo.org