Invite Pollinators into Your Garden with a Bee Habitat
Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a serious threat to our food future. Bees pollinate around 1/3 of the food that we see on store shelves. If we are going to continue to feed ourselves, we need to protect bees and other pollinators. This bee habitat is a great way for you to help native bees in your area!
There are a lot of factors that contribute to CCD. Habitat loss is one of them. The more land we develop, the fewer places bees have to build their homes. This bee habitat, which I first posted over at Crafting a Green World, is one way that you can make your garden a friendly place for pollinators.
Make Your Garden a Home for Pollinators
You only need a few simple supplies to make your own bee habitat:
- scrap wood
- a drill
- drill bits ranging from 3/32" to 3/8"
That's really it! How you drill your holes depends on the size of your wood. My piece was long and skinny, so I went with a 3/16" bit and tried to space my 3-4" deep holes about 1" apart. Check out this document from the Xerces Society (pdf) for how to decide how deep your holes need to be and how far apart you should space them.
Want more ideas for creating a bee-friendly garden? I've got some tips over at Crafting a Green World!
This is just one way to invite pollinators into your garden, of course! So spill it, gardenistas! How are you making your garden bee-friendly this spring?