In our gardens and fields, pollinators are busy doing important and mostly unseen work. Butterflies, native bees, moths, hummingbirds and many other species carry out the crucial task of pollinating flowering plants and crops, including some of our favorite fruits and vegetables such as peaches, melons and peppers. Pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food in our diets.
Prairies are one of the key habitats that pollinators need to thrive, but Texas prairies are fast disappearing. Here's an alarming statistic that will put a bee in your bonnet: Texas loses more than 1,000 acres of land to development and fragmentation every day!
The good news is that it's not too late to help our native pollinators. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) is launching a new Pollinators & Prairies Program to give them a hand.
The program will focus on increasing healthy prairies and helping native pollinators by restoring habitat on public and private lands and encouraging Texans to plant pollinator-friendly native grasses and wildflowers in their yards. Additionally, the program will support research on native pollinators to aid conservation efforts. The new initiative will amplify a decade-long effort by TPWF and partners, which together have restored more than 102,000 acres of vanishing grassland habitat across Texas. “We are delighted to collaborate in helping pollinators thrive in Texas,” says TPWF Executive Director Anne Brown.
Sponsor dollars from H-E-B and Phillips 66 have made it possible for TPWF to provide native seed mixes to landowners through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Private Lands Program and for other partners to initiate prairie restoration across more than 400 acres in eight counties. In October, TPWF and the Native Plant Society of Texas partnered during H-E-B's Native Plant Week Sale to give away thousands of prairie seed mix packets at select stores.
A new app will launch early next year for Texans interested in planting a pocket prairie or native plants. The app will make it easy to know what native plants or seed mixes to purchase for your region and include a step-by-step guide to planting and maintaining a native pollinator area.
The program will work closely with conservation partners including Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant Society of Texas, Native Prairies Association of Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Wildlife Association, Wildlife Habitat Federation and others.
More information can be found online at pollinatorsandprairies.org.
