Trees, plants, and pollinators (including bees, other insects, and even birds) are necessary ingredients for any healthy ecosystem. Trees and plants provide shade and cooling effects, protect against the risks of flooding, and absorb carbon dioxide in the air, producing oxygen and improving air quality as a result. They also provide habitat and food for wildlife and pollinators.
Most people think of bees when they hear the word "pollinator". Without a doubt, honey bees and and bumblebees play a critical role in ecosystems and the pollination of plants. However, pollinators exist across the animal kingdom, with each type of creature helping to pollinate different kinds of plants in different kinds of landscapes. Birds, bats, and moths are just a few of the other pollinators that help plant life thrive.
Pollination is necessary not only for flower gardens and fields of wildflowers, but also for growing food. Crops like apples, squash, tomatoes, and alfalfa (a cover crop and primary food source for livestock) all require pollination in order to grow and produce something that we can eat or use. The job of pollination is not something that humans can do efficiently by hand, or by machine - we need our pollinators to get the job done! This is why preserving and providing pollinator habitat is so important for our community's health and well-being. We truly could not live without pollinators.
