The Lima Rotary Club learns about the birds and the bees...
 
Lima Rotary Club received an education about the birds and the bees Monday. The pollinating kind, not the other kind.
Mike Retterer and Jason Jones from Pheasants Forever spoke about the importance of maintaining habitats for pollinators, and the significant decline of those habitats. Insects, birds, bats and reptiles are all pollinators, Retterer said, and they benefit from a diverse habitat.
A quality pollinator habitat has lots of diversity; flowers blooming in spring, summer and fall; and has flowers of different sizes, shapes, structures and colors. Pollinators and their habitats are critical to agriculture and the growing of vegetables, fruits and nuts. Quality pollinating habitats are good signs of an overall healthy wildlife, Retterer said.
Bees are a huge percentage of pollinators, including 4,000 native bee species. Native bees are five times more effective than honey bees as pollinators, and 70 percent of native bees nest in the ground. That fact is changing how scientists, farmers and conservation activists look at habitat, and what habitats include. For example, bare ground and room for those nests is now understood as more important than previously thought.
People often have questions about to create pollinator habitats in their own yards and farms, Retterer said. Soil and Water Conservation Districts are good places to start, and Pheasants Forever also has wildflower seed mixes. The important thing is to get a mix with native plants, and standard mixes from box stores don’t always fit that bill. They can, but Retterer cautioned to look for native mixes.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is helping with the effort, including pollinator habitats along interstates and other state routes, ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Kirk Slusher said. In fact, the district is currently working on a few grass kills in the area and emphasized that’s being done to prep areas for habitat building next spring.
Also on Monday, Rotary discussed:
Social night from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Met.
UNOH’s blossoming Rotaract Club, with 25 members from 10 countries and six states. The club has selected West Ohio Foodbank as their annual project.