Interagency pollinator event canceled

Due to the likelihood of rain, the interagency pollinator event scheduled for Wednesday, June 15 at the Spring Lake Park Preserve near Hastings has been canceled.

During next week?s International Pollinator Week observance and always, event sponsors (the Environmental Quality Board, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Dakota County) encourage everyone to take simple steps to help pollinators.

?The DNR helps pollinators by?conducting pollinator surveys, sharing expertise and by actively restoring and enhancing pollinator habitat on public lands,? DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said. ?We want to encourage Minnesotans to help pollinators too by taking simple actions such as planting nectar-rich native plants.?

People can take these simple steps help Minnesota?s pollinators:

• Plant a variety of native flowering plants.
• Choose plants that provide pollen and nectar in the spring, summer and fall.
• Use pesticides judiciously and only when necessary. Follow an integrated pest management approach to pest control.
• Become a community scientist and help researchers collect data about pollinators and their habitat.
• Learn more and find resources for helping pollinators through the?Lawns to Legumes?(BWSR.state.mn.us/L2L) program.
• Enlist friends and neighbors in helping pollinators.

?Pollinators are in trouble because of habitat loss, exposure to pesticides, diseases and pathogens, and our changing climate,? Environmental Quality Board Executive Director Katie Pratt said. ?EQB is helping state agencies work together on this issue, but we need all Minnesotans to take action for pollinator health.?

Additional pollinator resources are available on the?DNR website?(mndnr.gov/Pollinator_Resources) and the?EQB website?(EQB.state.mn.us/content/pollinators).

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