America in Bloom (AIB) and National Garden Bureau (NGB) announced America in Bloom has become a partner in the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a campaign to register a million public and private gardens and landscapes to support pollinators. The Challenge is a nationwide call to action to preserve and create gardens and landscapes that help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and other pollinators across America. The MPGC is an initiative of the National Pollinator Garden Network, of which America in Bloom is a partner.
Pollinators are responsible for one out of three bites of food we take, yet pollinators are at critical point in their own survival. We know that providing more nectar and pollen sources via flowering plants and trees will help improve their health and numbers. Increasing the number of pollinator-friendly gardens and landscapes will help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators.
Designed to accelerate growing efforts across America, the Million Pollinator Challenge was created in support of President Barack Obama's call to action to reverse the decline of pollinating insects, such as honey bees, native bees, and monarch butterflies. Strong resident engagement can restore pollinator populations to healthy levels. Pollinator gardens provide one way to reverse that decline by offering food, water, cover and places to raise young for honey bees, native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators.
The Million Pollinator Challenge is rallying hundreds of thousands of gardeners, horticultural professionals, schools, and volunteers to help create a million pollinator gardens over the next two years. Any individual can contribute by planting for pollinators and joining this effort. Every habitat of every size counts, from window boxes and garden plots to farm borders, golf courses, school gardens, corporate and university campuses. Everywhere we live, work, play and worship can, with small improvements, offer essential food and shelter for pollinators.
National Garden Bureau (NGB), the non-profit organization promoting gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, is pleased to partner with American in Bloom to support and encourage communities to add pollinator habitats as part of their commitment to creating a vibrant community.
Diane Blazek, NGB executive director, commented, "National Garden Bureau continues to partner with outstanding organizations to help plant 1 million new pollinator gardens by the end of 2016. What makes the partnership with America in Bloom so special is that by reaching out to communities that participate in the America in Bloom national awards program, we are really reaching hundreds of thousands of individual residents; every one of them can make an impact on the lives of pollinators."
Evelyn Alemanni, AIB board member, stated that via a donation from NGB, every attendee at the America in Bloom symposium and awards program in Holland, Michigan, will receive a seed collection so they can do their part to create more pollinator gardens across America. The program takes placed on September 24-26.
More information about ways to nurture pollinators is at http://millionpollinatorgardens.org/.