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Champions for Wildlife recently held a free family event, Wild for Pollinators, where children and their families learned what pollinators need in our gardens to survive through a fun presentation by Kim Bailey, the owner of Milkweed Meadows Farms. 

Kim is one of the area’s most knowledgeable experts on pollinators and native plants. Her program for children included nectar recipes, ideas for a salad buffet for hungry caterpillars, and lots of great suggestions to help pollinators thrive in our backyards. 

After learning all about pollinators, the kids and adults created foil relief artwork of pollinators to take home. The adults had as much fun completing the art activity as the kids! Every family took home milkweed plants to plant. Attendees were also able to explore the organization’s dead bug collection, which included butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, and beetles. 

Carpenter bees are important pollinators of the milkweed plant, which is the only plant monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on, so we want to save them to help out. Many have strong feelings about carpenter bees since they can damage the siding of homes, but hopefully, more can tolerate them since they do so much good! Also, if homeowners paint, not stain, the area where bees enter, it will discourage them. 

Champions for Wildlife is grateful to Bailey for her wonderful presentation and thanks the Polk County Community Foundation for its grant to host the event, and Costa Farms for the milkweed plant donation. The organization also appreciates the volunteers who helped—Cam Lawerence, Ellen Douglas, Samantha Bell and Jen Packard. 

The organization will be continuing its after-school program during the upcoming school year, teaching about monarch migration with live caterpillars raised by the kids and planting a pollinator garden with middle schoolers this fall next to Laughter Pond. 

To volunteer or learn more about Champions for Wildlife, email Loti Woods at loti@championsforwildlife.org or visit championsforwildlife.org.