You’ll have most likely heard the news by now that bees both nationwide and globally are in trouble. For decades, pollinators have been disappearing, and the population crash is at risk of threatening the entire global food supply.

A small city in Iowa, USA, wants to make a difference, though, and do something about this decline.

Later this year, Cedar Rapids, which has a population of 130,000 has plans to seed 188 acres of land with native prarie grasses and wildflowers and other pollinator-friendly plants! The city eventually hopes to create 1,000 acres of paradise for the bees.

The pollinator crisis could be caused by a variety of factors, say scientists. These include pesticides, pathogens, as well as climate change. Additionally, bees have been losing their habitats and food supply due to parking lots, farms, mowed lawns, housing developments, and other human developments which have been slowly (or rapidly in some areas) replacing wildflower fields.

Many of the drivers behind bee population decline remain unknown, the population of Cedar Rapids hopes their donation of land will at the very least give pollinators somewhere to perch along with plants to feed on!

‘The 1,000 acre pollinator initiative’ is thanks to a partnership with the Monarch Research Project, whose goal is to restore butterfly populations to what they once were. However, it was Park Superintendent of Cedar Rapids, Daniel Gibbins, who proposed converting 1,000 acres of land into pollinator habitat over five years.

The state and the MRP have managed to secure $180,000 in funding for the project so far.

Daniel Gibbins stated;

“With the agricultural boom around 100 years ago, about 99.9 percent of all the native habitat of Iowa has been lost, when you convert it back to what was originally native Iowa, you’re going to help a lot more than just native pollinators. You’re helping birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals—everything that’s native here relies on native vegetation.”

Revival of prairies

The mix of seeds created includes 39 species of wildflowers and 7 species of native prairie grasses. Although mostly just bees and butterflies are attracted to the flowers, the hardy prairie grasses will ensure weeds and invasive species don’t move in and choke the flowers out.

Gibbings along with his team cataloged all the unused public land that could potentially be used to plant the flowers and grasses. The list includes rarely frequented areas of land in the city, including parks, golf courses, and the local airport. Also included are sewage ditches, water retention basis, and roadway right of ways. These alone equal 500 acres, and the city is working with other cities within the county to reach the 1,000 acre target!

“Before they can seed the land with the special pollinator plant mix, Gibbins’ crew has to “knock back the undesirable vegetation.” That means mowing down, burning off, or in some cases applying herbicide to get rid of grass, weeds, and invasive species. They’ll lay down the special seed mixture in the spring and fall.”

“You can’t just seed them and walk away,” says Gibbins. “Although the pollinator habitat will be lower maintenance than a green turf that needs to be mown every week, the prairie grasses will require some care, including mowing once a year or burning every few years.”

EVERYONE CAN HELP

Most of us won’t have 1,000 spare acres to devote towards helping bees and butterflies, but what most people have is a few square feet in their garden where wildflowers native to your local area ‘could make a big difference’, adds Gibbins.

Stephen Buchmann is a pollination ecologist at the University of Arizona, and wrote the book ‘The Reason for Flowers’. He recommends against using both herbicides and insecticides, and if absolutely necessary, to apply them at night when bees aren’t active.

Buchmann points out;

“When creating pollinator gardens, the most important thing is to have a big diversity of wildflowers and heirloom crops that bloom in the spring, summer, and fall. People think they’ll just plant the wildflowers and the bees will come, and that’s true in some cases, but the smaller the bee is, the less far it can fly. Some can only fly a few hundred meters.”

Some species nest in hard substrates, such as the bare ground, or in holes in bricks or wood. Some like to nestle in sand pits or dead wood that beetles have tunneled through. They also need water!Some species nest in hard substrates, such as the bare ground, or in holes in bricks or wood. Some like to nestle in sand pits or dead wood that beetles have tunneled through. They also need water!

The collaboration are still looking for funding for the following four years, and although huge jumps in the rise of pollinators won’t be seen immediately, Cedar Rapids are confident it will help and the rest of the country will follow suite using the county as a model for the rest of the country.