CARLISLE, Pa. — Spring is here, and it might be time to start thinking about preparing your at-home garden.
Penn State Master Gardeners are offering a public educational series in Cumberland County, "Gardening with Nature," that will educate the community about ways to maintain and protect public and residential gardens.
On Tuesday, they will be discussing the importance of pollinator conservation.
Pollinators are a vital species in an ecosystem and are essential for the reproduction of flowering plants and agricultural crops.
Right now, Master Gardeners at Penn State Extension said up to 40% of pollinator species are at risk of extinction. Without them, our food chain could be severely damaged.
Around $235 to $377 billion of annual global food production depends on pollinators, said the Master Gardeners at Penn State Extension. That means, one out of three bites of food you eat would not be possible without pollinators.
The Penn State Master Gardeners' program hopes to educate communities about the ways they can help support healthy pollinator habitats.
And they said its easy.
Native ecosystems can be created in your own backyards simply by:
- Increasing the abundance of native plants
- Providing nesting sites for pollinators
- Reducing the use of pesticides
On Tuesday, Penn State Master Gardeners will hold their first program in their educational series, "Bee Friendly: Plant This, Not That," at the Fredricksen Library in Camp Hill tonight at 7 p.m.