Notebook
Proud to BEE A 4-H’er by Dorothy Shier
4
-H’ers across Canada have the opportunity to have fun planting seeds and learning about bee polli-
nators through the Proud to Bee and 3-H’er campaign. This is a partnership between 4-H and Syngenta Canada. Syngenta is an agricultural company committed to sustainable agriculture. In the program, every Canadian 4-H
member in Canada last April received two bee-friendly seed packets, one for you to plant and one to give to a friend or to donate to your local club to sell as a fundraiser. The seeds were all supplied by the Ontario Seed Company. Did you know? The earliest known
interaction of humans and bees is esti- mated to between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago. 4-H Ontario is participating with the
campaign and many clubs throughout Ontario are getting outside, enjoying nature, and planting gardens. These seeds can be planted anywhere: in ditches, under trees, in your yards, any bare area that could use some colour. If tended and watered this year they will return year after year, will reproduce with lots more flowers and colour and polling for our pollinators. Did you know? Bats are also pollina-
tors, they pollinate the blossoms that open at night like the flowers of gourds and many others. The clubs are spreading the word
about 4-H, telling about all the good that bee pollinators do and selling the seed mix. By being involved, you are not only growing a beautiful garden, you are also helping to create pollina- tor-friendly habitats. Healthy pollina-
6 • Home and Gardener Living
tors are an important part of a healthy ecosystem and a sustainable food supply. Pollinators such as bees, birds, and
butterflies have an extremely important job. When they land on a flower or plant to gather food for themselves, they are also helping to feed us. That’s because during their daily flower-hopping trips, pollinators end up transferring pollen from plant to plant helping plants become fertilized so they can repro- duce. They also pollinate many crops (like alfalfa) to help feed our animals. Did you Know? On average, to make
one pound of honey, 556 honeybees must visit two million flowers. The Ontario Seed Company prepared
the wildflower mixes for 4-H clubs to order. The packets contain black eyed Susan, borage, butterfly weed, white clover, forget-me-not, partridge pea, wild bergamot, and more. The 4-H clubs are selling the wildflower packs for $2 each as a fund raiser for their club. Did you Know? The average worker
bee will produce 1/12 of a teaspoon honey during its entire life. If you are interested in helping all our
pollinators, get in touch with your local 4-H club, buy some wildflower packs and plant them, this will help beauti- fy our communities and our province while also helping to support our 4-H clubs. Plant, grow and tend a pollinator- friendly garden. h
4-H leader, Dorothy Shier, is with Giant Vegeta- ble Club. Durham West, Ontario
www.localgardener.net
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