Pollination Week!

What is Pollination Week?

National Pollination Week is recognized as an extraordinary week to spread support and awareness about pollinator health! It is celebrated globally every year on June 20-26. What are pollinators? Look outside and see for yourself! These pollinators can be birds, insects, bees, and butterflies. 

Pollinators not only are recognized as crucial towards the health of all life in the world, but also contribute towards the food supply we consume every day. In fact, over two-thirds of the crops globally depend on pollination.

At Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods has become more aware of the benefits that pollinators bring to the environment. When you think of pollinators, you might immediately think of the honeybee which contributes towards plenty of well-being and health towards vegetation and human beings, but butterflies also need to be recognized as an important part of a healthy environment.

Trish Morris, Director of Development, has spent a lot of time learning about pollinators and speaking with the Nature Conservancy on how protecting these species benefit us and the environment. Not only does the decision to put pollinator gardens in Ideal neighborhoods encourage more butterflies, but it also gives homeowners a piece of nature that you normally would not get living in a new community. 

Our company has decided to put butterfly gardens in these communities as an effort to help pollinators thrive and restore habitat loss. Morris has also attended the leadership program led by the Natural Conservancy of Oklahoma. 

Our goal is to restore potential pollinator loss from development by growing butterfly gardens for future generations to enjoy. This creates a healthy environment and restores butterfly populations in our neighborhoods. 

For more information, please visit www.nature.or/okmonarchs or www.okiesformonarchs.org 

How can you help?

Butterflies play a vital role in environmental health and contribute towards the pollination of plants. In the neighborhoods built by Ideal Homes that are located across Oklahoma, you will find many butterfly gardens and we encourage homeowners to start their own butterfly gardens at home. Starting your own butterfly gardens can counteract the threats towards pollinators and implement the protection of the environment. You can start a butterfly garden by finding a spot to plant that gets plenty of sunshine, planting flowers and other plants that produce nectar, and providing plants that can feed and protect caterpillars.

When starting a butterfly garden, you must create a place that encourages butterflies to stay around and produce more eggs that will grow the population. It is also a good idea to find an area that has moist soil and is protected from excessive wind. 

Events to attend this week

There are many events offered in Oklahoma this week that raises awareness on pollination and gives people the opportunity to participate in the effort to save the environment. These events include webinars, volunteer events, and even donation opportunities! 

For more information, visit www.nature.org

If you are in Norman, there many ways to get involved and join in on activities during Pollination Week. 

Events go on each day up to June 26, so we encourage you to participate and to be informed about our beloved pollinators.

For more information on events in Norman, please visit Norman to celebrate Pollinator Week with tours, webinars, volunteer activities and more | City of Norman, OK (normanok.gov)