On Wednesday April 24 in Nashua, an inquisitive and energized group of approximately 20 members gathered together to attend an event called "Cultivating Community: Save Greater Nashua's Bees." I had the pleasure of cofacilitating this event which was hosted by the Grow Nashua organization.
Grow Nashua's goal was to generate ideas of what could be accomplished as a community to help support pollinators and start planning some community action projects. In attendance were a variety of folks -- an excellent mix of gardeners, beekeepers, educators, and general pollinator enthusiasts! It was very inspiring to see community members come together and share ideas.
Some common themes and interests were identified and working groups will continue to meet and plan projects in two key focus areas:
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Habitat
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Education and Advocacy
Stephanie Aubert from Grow Nashua has also begun compiling a list of free online resources about bees, pollinators, and native gardening that can continue to be added to over time.
I am looking forward to seeing some of the ideas put into action! If you are part of the greater Nashua community and would like to get involved, contact me or Grow Nashua at stephanie@grownashua.org.
Recommendations to Save Greater Nashua's Bees
Habitat
- Create pollinator gardens with flowering plants
- Plant lawns with native grasses and include pollinator plants such as clover - leave dandelions be!
- Decrease or cut out the use of pesticides
- Locate more spaces to place honybee hives - such as on rooftops
- Place shungite rocks around landscape to attract bees
Education and Advocacy
- Find and act on opportunities to teach about pollinators in our area schools
- Create a series of short film clips to help people understand the importance of pollinators and learn simple ways to protect them
- Build partnerships among beekeeper associations
- Gain corporate support and sponsorship
- Create a map, or series of maps, to show locations of pollinator gardens, beehives, native bee nesting boxes and more
Photos by Megan Cook. A lifelong resident of New Hampshire, Megan Cook is a Natural Resources Steward from the class of 2017. Megan has a degree in Fish and Wildlife Science and works as an Environmental Compliance professional.
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