Resources
Leave some leaves for pollinators, please!
One of the most important things you can do for pollinators is to provide them with the cover they need to survive the winter. Some species of butterflies, wild bees and other pollinators overwinter in or under fallen leaves. Instead of blowing leaves to the curb, please consider leaving some leaves around the base of trees or add them to foundation beds or around native perennials. These "soft landings" are critical for many pollinators to complete their lifecycle. Plus, leaves provide valuable organic matter and help to build healthy soil. Leaves have the same weed suppression and moisture retention properties of shredded wood mulch + they’re free!
Protect pollinators through the winter:
leave the leaves!
leave the leaves!
Managing fallen leaves can often seem like an endless task during autumn. While we can’t allow them to clog storm sewers or leave a slippery layer on sidewalks, we CAN concentrate them into garden beds and under the "drip line" of trees and around tree trunks. Read more:
Pocket Prairies
Biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Licking Park District hosted a Pocket Prairies event at Infirmary Mound Park which compared different strategies for establishing and maintaining prairie plots of all sizes.
Resources shared at the Pocket Prairie event included:
Seed mix providers and prairie installation guides:
Ohio Prairie Nursery: How To Plant Native Grass and Wildflower Seed - A Comprehensive Guide for Site Prep, Installation and Management
Prairie Moon Nursery: How to prep your site & grow a prairie & other FAQ
Shooting Star Native Seeds: Prairie restoration guidelines
Establish your own mini-meadow or pocket prairie
Would you like your yard to benefit native wildlife and pollinators? Have you considered converting a portion of your property to a mini meadow or a prairie plot? Here are some resources to get started:
Technical support & cost-share funding
Getting Started with Wildflower Patches, Flower Strips & Meadows
Shana Byrd from Dawes Arboretum shares practical tips for creating your own native plant patch. Produced as part of the Pollinator Habitat 101 webinar series sponsored by The Ohio State University Bee Lab. Watch Shana's video & see complete list of Pollinator Habitat 101 presentations.
Find Native Plants & Seeds
Natives in Harmony in Marengo
Leaves for Wildlife in Sunbury
Scioto Gardens in Delaware
Monarch Meadows in Pataskala
Riverside Native Trees in Delaware
Ohio Prairie Nursery (online)
Prairie Moon (online)
Prairie Nursery (online)
Garden for Wildlife (online)
Dig deeper into natural landscaping
Soft Landings: Creating diverse native plantings under keystone trees (story map)
The basics of nature-based land care (PDF)
Overused foundation plants & native alternatives (lecture)
Native alternatives to traditional plants (list)
Invasive plants to remove from your landscape
Alternatives for invasive plants in Ohio
Virtual Classroom of educational videos & resources
Pollinator Partnership Native Pollinator Garden plan
How to Support Wildlife in Your Landscape
Distinguish native plants from invasive weeds with the Growit Buildit Seedling ID Guide
Use this printable guide to help find potentially rare native bees in Ohio. Organized by native plant bloom time, the guide includes beautiful photos of the plants & bees to look for. View & download.
The Ohio State University Bee Lab offers a six-session Bumble Bee Short Course for Community Scientists. Learn about all things bumble bee in this series of scientist-led webinars, readings, resources and more. Go to course.
Compared to birds and butterflies, relatively little is known about Ohio's bees. Details of their distribution, life history and habitat is not well documented. Get started observing native bees with this great printable guide.
photo by Ian Meske
Learn more about what Pollinator Pathway communities are doing to create and protect native plants for wild bees and butterflies in "The Buzz" --the quarterly e-newsletter from the Pollinator Pathway network.
Articles include:
Small Flowering Trees: A Dozen Native Species for Limited Spaces
The Right Way to Leave Stems for Native Bees
This 5-part virtual symposium hosted by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy focuses on creating vibrant greenspaces that benefit pollinators and wildlife. Learn more
Get great lists of native plants for sunny spots & shady gardens, top 10 lists of trees & shrubs for native bees & other helpful resources. View Pollinator Pathway plant lists.
This website archive contains tips for creating a backyard habitat that is inviting to butterflies, hummingbirds & songbirds in Central Ohio. Learn more.
Soft landings refer to leaf litter and plantings under native trees that provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycles of butterflies, moths, bees & other beneficial insects. Learn more.
All native species are important, but some natives—called keystone plants—support more wildlife than others. See the list for our region & learn more about these "power plants."
Up to 37% of native bee species are considered pollen specialists. This means they rely on very specific native plants to feed their young. Learn more using this beautiful native bee story map.
Plant a native tree in honor or memory of a loved one
1500 Trees aims to plant 1500 native trees in public spaces across Licking County. Honor a graduate, celebrate an anniversary or memorialize a family member with a special tree. Learn more
NEW resources: 2023
Checklist of actions to promote pollinators on your property
New York Times article: Replacing your lawn? Instead of a meadow, consider a food forest.
Saving moths may be just as important as saving bees. A new study suggests that moths in urban England made up a full third of all pollinator visits, surprising researchers with the types of plants they visited: not just pale wildflowers but fruit trees, brightly colored flowers, and many woody plants. This is another great reason to grow more native plants! See related story in Wired: Bees Get All the Love. Won't Someone Think of the Moths?
Naturally Ohio: This video explains the problems posed by invasive plants in Ohio, such as winter creeper, amur honeysuckle and multiflora rose.
Baffled by botanical names of native plants? This great guide can help.
Why Getting A Hive Won't Save the Bees: New Xerces Society fact sheet on bees sets the record straight on wild bees and honey bees.
National Geographic interviewed famed researcher Dr. Sarah Lewis about ways to support fireflies: leave the leaves, plants natives, don’t mow or use pesticides, and the big one: turn off all lights at night.
Celebrate Moth Month by adding one of these new books to your collection: Gardening for Moths by Jim McCormac and Chelsea Gottfried and Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard by John Himmelmann
