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Rochester Pollinators Committee
Rochester Pollinators
Committee of the Rochester City Beautiful Commission
Restore Our Natural Habitat — Start Growing Native!
Save the monarch butterfly and pollinators by planting Michigan native plants in your home garden.
WHO WE ARE
Rochester Pollinators mission is to provide education and resources to preserve the Monarch butterfly and pollinator population. By reintroducing Michigan native plants into local landscapes including home gardens, businesses and municipal landscapes, we can help our local pollinators flourish!
- Garden Plans & Packet
- How to Germinate Milkweeds
- How to Plant A Monarch Butterfly Garden
- Intermediate Native Plant List
- List of Michigan Butterfly Host Plants
- Native Michigan Pollinator Brunch Plant Guide
- Pollinator Garden Packet
- Rochester Pollinators Brochure
- Rochester Pollinators Coloring Book
- Starter Pollinator Garden Layout
- Where to Purchase Michigan Native Plants
THE ISSUE
WE ARE LOSING OUR VALUABLE POLLINATORS.
Butterflies and other pollinators have experienced significant declines across the globe. The Monarch butterfly population alone has decreased up to 75%–90% depending upon the year.
Pollinators are being threatened by a number of factors, including habitat loss, increased pesticide use, and introduced diseases. In the United States, a vast majority of land has been altered in some way, including the creation of millions of acres of lawns which often lack the native plants needed to support pollinators
WHY SAVE THE POLLINATORS?
ONE-THIRD OF OUR FOOD SUPPLY IS DEPENDENT UPON POLLINATION.
Food: Many of our favorite foods such as apples, avocados, cherries, almonds, blueberries, lemons and much more are made possible by insects. If they were to disappear foods would become rare and expensive.
THE BENEFITS OF NATIVE PLANTS
Low maintenance: These amazing plants have adapted to our natural landscapes. Due to their deep roots they require less watering than non-native species. Once established in your garden, they require very little maintenance, and they come back every year.
Healthy & SAFE: These plants are healthy for the pollinators and are healthy for you. Suburban lawns on average have 10 times more chemical pesticides than farms. Native plants are better adapted to our climate and eliminate the need for toxic chemicals. Thus providing a safe environment for our wildlife and families.
NATIVE PLANTS:
• Require less water due to their deep roots
• Need no pesticides
• They grow back each year
• They feed our local pollinators, birds and us!
WHAT WOULD WE MISS?
Nearly 90% of all flowering plants, including many fruit and vegetable crops, benefit from pollinators. This means that most of our favorite foods would either totally disappear or be extremely rare and expensive.Some of these items include:
• Honey
• Avocados
• Cherries
• Tequila
• Coffee
• Apple Pie
• Almonds
• Blueberries
• Tomatoes
• Squash
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
PLANT A POLLINATOR GARDEN AND RESTORE OUR NATURAL HABITAT
HELPING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER—PLANT A BUTTERFLY GARDEN
The most effective way you can help is by planting a pollinator-friendly garden with milkweed for the Monarchs to lay their eggs. And there are many native plants that are also great for other butterflies, bees, humming birds, and pollinators.
By choosing these landscape-worthy natives featured in this handout, you can help save our ecosystem one pollinator at a time.
Report Monarch butterfly sightings online at https://journeynorth.org/sightings/.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TO THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY?
Cities across the Midwest are taking the pledge to try and save the Monarch butterfly and Rochester officially joined that list in 2018. The Mayors’ Monarch Pledge is a program that is aimed at helping the Monarch increase in population and flourish.
Mayor Rob Ray stated, "With our wealth of natural habitat in the city, Rochester is in an ideal position to lead on the issue of helping support our Monarch butterfly and our pollinators."
Check out all the cities involved in the Mayor's Monarch Pledge!
The milkweed plant is essential to this magnificent creatures survival as they are a host plant that the female Monarch only lays her eggs on.
Events
During this uncertain time, we want to keep you updated on future events. As of now, our 1,000 Free Milkweed Give-Away and Native Plant Sale may be delayed – and it is our hope we do not have to cancel, stay tuned for more information.
The Rochester Pollinators will be at the Downtown Rochester Farmer’s Market on Sept 12 and 19 selling native plants and giving away free milkweed.
Connect
Check out #rochesterpollinators to see who is helping the Monarchs. We are just getting started.
Tag us #Rochesterpollinators
Follow Rochester Pollinators on Facebook and Instagram
For questions, email Pollinators@trentcreative.com.
To sign-up for our newsletter, please email pollinators@trentcreative.com or visit our Rochester Pollinators Facebook page
Learn more about the monarch Butterfly
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Rochester Pollinators is to provide education and resources to protect the Monarch butterfly and other pollinators by reintroducing native plants into local landscapes.
To learn more about the monarch, go to monarchjointventure.org.
RECOMMENDED NATIVE MILKWEED FOR THE HOME GARDEN FOR THE MONARCHS
Butterfly Milkweed - Orange Blossoms - 1’-3’ tall - Full sun
Rose Milkweed - Deer resistant - Beautiful Pink Blossoms- 3’-4’ tall - Full-partial sun
Spread the Word
- See a butterfly? Plant native plants? Tag us! #rochesterpollinators
- Give us a shout out by tagging the City Beautiful Commission on Facebook. We would love to see what you are doing to help our local pollinators!
- Remember to like the City Beautiful Commission Facebook page.
Start Growing Native!
Fall is the Best Time to Plant your Native Seeds & Plants
By planting your native plants and seeds in the fall, they will be larger and bloom better during next year’s growing season than the same plant planted next spring.