Seed Collecting for Monarchs!

The Pollinator Partnership and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have joined forces to launch the Monarch Wings Across the Eastern Broadleaf Forest Project and they need your help! The Project is seed collecting throughout the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas and Missouri.

They have put a call out for enthusiastic seed collecting volunteers in all 5 states to help identify and collect milkweed and other common nectar plants. As a seed collecting volunteer you will be provided with training and be making valuable contributions to supporting migrating monarchs.

No seed collecting experience is required but basic plant knowledge is preferred.  Training and seed collection will start in 2017, but you can get on the list now.  To sign-up as a seed collector please e-mail Amber Barnes will your name, city, state, and preferred email address.  You will be added to their volunteer contact list and more information will follow soon.

Can't tell a Honeybee from a Bumble Bee? This New Tool May Help!

Bees are more than honey bees. They’re bumble bees, carpenter bees, cuckoo bees and others, and you can identify more than a dozen of them - types you’re likely to see on your farm or in your landscape - using a new pocket card from The Ohio State University.

It’s just in time for this week’s National Pollinator Week, June 20-26, which is meant to raise awareness of pollinators - bees and their buddies - and the good they do for crops and in nature.
“Bees are essential pollinators,” said the card’s developer, Denise Ellsworth, who’s the program director of the Honey Bee and Native Pollinator Education Program in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “They’re beautiful, important and diverse creatures that positively impact our lives.”

Single copies of Common Bees of Ohio, a 4-by-6-inch laminated card, are free through June 30 by sending a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to Ellsworth at Department of Entomology, OARDC, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691. If you miss the deadline, you can buy the card throughout the year in quantities of 25 - good for handing out to groups - for $9.99 from the college’s online store at go.osu.edu/BeeID.

Grant Money Available for Community Gardens with Pollinator Emphasis

Bees, butterflies and other pollinators need more habitat and you can help by planting blooms to attract and feed these unsung heroes. For generations, we've enjoyed helping gardeners create their own vibrant outdoors spaces and we believe by working together now we can protect pollinators in

need of food and shelter. It's our promise to lend a hand as you plant your own pollinator garden, apply for a community pollinator grant or support a pollinator organization.

The Scotts MiracleGro Company GRO1000 showcase grant awards is providing funding and education resources to help establish and enhance pollinator gardens.  Non-profit, tax-exempt public organizations are encouraged to apply for up to $1500 in funding for community gardens and greenspaces.  The application period is January 1 - February 19, 2016.  Award recipients will be announced in April.

Goals of the program include:
• Creating positive community influence and impact
• Involving area youth
• Promoting health and wellness
• Donating harvest yields
• Committing to sustaining or growing the project

Click here for more information.

DNR Urban Wildlife Habitat Cost Share Assistance Available

Calling all property owners and managers— a new DNR program is providing financial assistance for creation of wildlife habitat, specifically pollinator habitat, on urban lands In Hamilton County. Individual properties, HOA common areas, and more are eligible for this funding immediately. These funds can combine with SWCD cost share funds for even more assistance for your project. Whether you’ve received cost share assistance through the SWCD in the past or are starting a new project, contact the SWCD to learn more about the assistance and financial resources available. These DNR funds are time sensitive so do not wait!

Project examples:
 Warm or cool season native grass establishment
 Grain or legume food plots
 Tree/shrub establishment
 Woodland edge feathering, fencerow rehab, etc.
 Interseeding forbs
 Native pollinator habitat and native shrubs

For more information contact Claire Lane, Backyard Conservation Coordinator with Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District.