On the mark: Pollinators need gardens too

Growing up in an inner-ring Minneapolis suburb, we didn't think much of bees. We saw few, perhaps because my dad, along with other neighbors, zapped the dandelions every spring with an awful-smelling liquid he targeted from a tank. Years later, as we walked back along the Cloquet River after a highwater spring canoe trip, I asked him why nothing was growing along the roadway. "Sprayed with DDT," he answered, and went on to tell me about Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring."

Bees sting. They were our enemies. On a canoe trip out of Sawbill, my 5-year-old son plunged into some beautiful violet flowers blooming in a tall clump along a portage, hoping to smell something gorgeous. "Ouch!" he screamed, as he emerged in tears with several stings, and more bees in pursuit. Fortunately, he didn't go into anaphylactic shock. Years later, living near Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, I discovered - after a few spring stings - that my lawn, where it abutted the alley, harbored ground-nesting bees. After that, I avoided that corner, especially with the lawnmower.

Nor did I have any understanding of the symbiotic relationship between bees and the pollen of flowers. Thanks to Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District's Alyssa Alness Bloss, I've received not only some heart-opening lessons but also some practical ways to encourage bees by providing pollen sources for them.

The SWCD is a local unit of state government that helps local people conserve land, water, forests, wildlife and other natural resources. A locally led movement, they've worked with landowners and farmers of Carlton County for more than 60 years. They are funded by the state of Minnesota, Carlton County contributions, Clean Water Fund appropriations and other grant funding. With financial assistance from local SWCDs, private landowners, businesses and schools across the state are implementing a variety of conservation practices. These include restoring wetlands and forests, protecting streambanks and shorelines, planting pollinator habitat, building soil health and preventing erosion.

Every Minnesota county except two hosts a SWCD equivalent. Born in the wake of the Dust Bowl, SWCDs have been involved in delivering conservation across America for more than 70 years. Each district operates at the direction of locally elected SWCD board supervisors, enabling the SWCDs to manage their local resources and serve the needs of the citizens in their district.

Encouraged by an offer of free consultation and design of a pollinator-friendly flower garden, Alness Bloss arrived at our home and toured our gardens with me. She offered many ideas and encouraged me to buy, via the SWCD, a set of flowering plants that are known pollinator attractors. I'm looking forward to what these will include! She left me with a glossy packet of information that includes drawings of more than two dozen Minnesota bumblebee females. I look forward to shifting my birding expertise toward these smaller creatures! Another colorful chart documents 24 flowering plants, arranged by blooming season and accompanied by notes on which pollinators they host, their height and water needs, and their flower colors.

Another pamphlet teaches us about nesting and overwintering habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects, peppered with beautiful photos of larvae and pupating bees! I'm delighted to say that I think our 80 acres is rich with sheltering opportunities: stems and branches, leaf litter, bare ground, dead wood, brush piles and rock piles. You'll be surprised at what these include: pithy-stemmed plants, logs, patches of undisturbed soil and leaf litter.

They are great resources. Give our county's SWDC a call at (218) 384-3891 to get your own.

Columnist Ann Markusen is an economist and professor emerita at University of Minnesota. A Pine Knot board member, she lives in Red Clover Township north of Cromwell with her husband, Rod Walli.