Pollinators and Pollinator Gardens

Tags: Pollinators, Pollinator garden, All-Seasons, Outdoor, All-Grades, Fall, Spring, Bees, Wildflowers

Time : 40 mins

Author: Lynda Boudreault

Outline

Greeting and Introduction/Review	Start in the usual place with usual introduction. Ask students to: Imagine a world without strawberries, watermelons or chocolate. We rely on pollinators like butterflies, birds, and bees for the foods that we eat. Pollinators in our neighborhoods are in trouble since the food, shelter, and water that they need to live and raise young is disappearing.
Main Lesson	How can we help pollinators? Pollinators need food, water and shelter. We can make our environment pollinator friendly by planting flowers in groups to keep pollinators safe, making sure there are sources of water, providing shelters like hives, and leaving areas of soil uncovered for ground nesting insects. We often plan our gardens for spring and summer blooms, but autumn blooms help pollinators as they prepare for winter. Ask and discuss: What pollinators do you have in your area? What do pollinators need to thrive? What flowers/plants are in bloom in your area?
Activity 1 (pre-k to 5th)	Watch videos: Like fruit? Thank a bee. https://tinyurl.com/vqlzhhk The Beauty of Pollination—Wings of Life https://tinyurl.com/y8xu3f5u
Activity 2 (pre-k to 5th)	Take an exploratory walk around your outdoor space (ie. backyard, school yard, neighborhood). Using the pollinator survey as a guide, make observations about the space. Materials Needed: Materials: Clipboard (or hard writing surface), pencil, colored pencils, measuring tape or ruler.
Activity 3 (3rd to 5th)	Sketch out the area on graph paper, making note of any features that help pollinators, hurt pollinators, or could be adapted to help pollinators. Working in groups or independently, have students make an action plan. Ask students how they can improve the area to make it more pollinator friendly (ie. Adding flower beds, bird baths, providing shelter, etc.). Materials: Graph paper
Wrap-up	This action plan can be used for future class projects or to help identify appropriate sites for garden beds.
Goodbye	2-3 minutes to say goodbye
External References	Like fruit? Thank a bee. https://tinyurl.com/vqlzhhk The Beauty of Pollination—Wings of Life https://tinyurl.com/y8xu3f5u
Worksheets	Pollinator Survey:https://beckergreenclassroom.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PollinatorSiteSurvey.pdf/td>

*This post is adapted from the “‘Bee’ a Friend to Pollinators Lesson” Plan created by The Bee Cause Project.

Pollinators and Pollinator Gardens

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