@NRDCPress: WH's first pollinator #garden designed to support #bees, monarch #butterflies & other
White House's first pollinator #garden designed to support #bees, monarch #butterflies & other pollinators
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Sylvia Fallons Blog
Pollinators find a home at the White House
Posted April 7, 2014
This past week Michelle Obama held her sixth annual White House garden planting. Each year the first lady has welcomed kids from local schools to help her plant fruits and vegetables and talk about healthy eating. This year Michelle Obama expanded her garden to include the White Houses first pollinator garden designed to support bees, monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
This is an exciting new development and provides a great opportunity to talk about the food that pollinators themselves depend on as well as the important role they play in our own food production. The White House has kept bees on their grounds for several years now, but this is the first time that they have specifically planted native, flowering plants to provide good sources of pollen and nectar for these and other native bees.
Additionally, the new pollinator garden hosts at least two different species of milkweed the plant that monarch butterflies are dependent on for reproducing. Monarchs have been in decline across the country in large part due to the extensive loss of milkweed in agriculture from the use of the herbicide glyphosate (also known as Round Up) in connection with Round Up resistant crops. Planting milkweed in our gardens and schoolyards is one of the best things that we can all do to help the monarch butterflies come back.
Organizations like Monarch Watch (which NRDC has partnered with to plant milkweed) provides milkweed plants to schools, businesses and the general public for planting what they call monarch waystations- areas that can support monarch reproduction along the butterflies amazing migration from Mexico to Canada and back. In February, President Obama announced a commitment with the leaders of Mexico and Canada to work together to help preserve the monarchs migration. So its a great first step to see the White House itself become a waystation for monarchs by planting milkweed in their first ever pollinator garden!
To help NRDC and Monarch Watch plant milkweed in other locations click here. You can also join NRDC in telling EPA to impose restrictions on the use of herbicides that are eliminating milkweed by clicking here.
And see Michelle Obama discuss the White Houses new pollinator garden here:
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http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2014/04/first-lady-michelle-obama-adds.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/06/23/secret-life-white-house-bees
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2012.00196.x/abstract
http://www.monarchwatch.org
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/mexico-us-canada-work-monarch-butterflies
EPA Petition link (please see original article)
Baitball Blogger
(46,700 posts)They should bring that backyard habitat series back for another season.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)equipment and took classes in bee keeping. One winter later we have empty hives and do not know where to go from here. We were not the only ones. Most of the keepers in our area lost their bees. It would be helpful if County Extension Offices had gardening and small farming info and hands on help.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)Long-blooming and buzz with bees spring and summer. I don't have any milkweed, though--meant to try it. I have butterfly bushes (buddleia), but few butterflies.
lillypaddle
(9,580 posts)I'm sure it will be disparaged by the usual RW suspects, but GOOD on the WH!
Cha
(297,157 posts)proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)I only logged-in to rec and bookmark your DU homepage thread before coming here via yellow tab. Quite the sweet coincidence, #allies, Cha~
Sabrina Johnson with The Baby Tamer in Chief~
Cha (141,455 posts)
Sat Apr 12, 2014, 08:15 PM
Cha
(297,157 posts)Mahalo, I'm so glad you enjoyed it.. I thought it was awesome for those kids!
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)My Mom lives in farm country, but there are a few spots on her property where there is a little milkweed. I'd plant some seeds to help the local stuff along, if I could get some.
proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)...Organizations like Monarch Watch (which NRDC has partnered with to plant milkweed) provides milkweed plants to schools, businesses and the general public for planting what they call monarch waystations- areas that can support monarch reproduction along the butterflies amazing migration from Mexico to Canada and back...
To help NRDC and Monarch Watch plant milkweed in other locations donate here. You can also join NRDC in telling EPA to impose restrictions on the use of herbicides that are eliminating milkweed by clicking PETITION LINK.
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SEEDS ($10 and $16): http://shop.monarchwatch.org/store/Search.aspx?SearchTerms=seeds
PLUGS (free for schools and nonprofits; otherwise, $60.80/flat of 32): http://monarchwatch.org/milkweed/market/index.php?function=show_static_page&id_static_page=1&table_name=vendors
DONATE: https://www.nrdcgreengifts.org/butterfly-beauty
NRDC PETITION TO EPA ADMINISTRATOR (Subject: Adopt new herbicide restrictions to save monarchs):
https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=B28DA288616C9F85AD47FEEC133194C4.app338a?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3369&s_src=WBOMONPETNON0314BGAC
TELL THE EPA TO PROTECT MONARCHS!
As Big Ag has dramatically increased its use of genetically modified crops resistant to potent weed killers like Monsanto's Roundup, industrial use of these herbicides has exploded -- killing off the milkweed that monarch butterflies need to survive. Tell the EPA to adopt tough restrictions on the chemicals imperiling monarchs.
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)Have you asked @MichelleObama to take the next step on protecting bees yet? #FLOTUS, join the #BeeAction movement http://bit.ly/1iuU0Wc
Michelle Obama: Stand up for bees in the White House garden and beyond
This year, first lady Michelle Obama has added a pollinator garden to the White House Kitchen Garden to support bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Like many backyard gardeners, the first lady is doing her part to create habitat for bees, which are essential to one out of three bites of food we eat, and which are dying off globally in record numbers.
Because of the global bee crisis, and because we believe that Mrs. Obama understands the importance of pesticide-free organic gardening and the importance of healthy bees for the health of our food supply, the health of our families and the health of our planet, were asking her to join us in standing up for bees.
Please ask Michelle Obama to set an example for the nation by banning bee-killing pesticides from the White House gardens and urging the EPA and Congress to take swift action to protect bees and other pollinators.
PETITION AT LINK.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)Eddie Gehman Kohan
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