Pollinator Lesson Ideas Planting A Pollinator Garden With Kids

Read on for some ideas for hands-on pollinator lessons.
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Additional pollinator activities can include:

Scavenger hunts.
Making a bee house.
Creating paper flowers.
Coloring parts of a flower.
Making a bee bath.
Raising butterflies.
Making and planting seed balls.

How do you make a pollinator friendly garden?

Planting Pollinator-Friendly Gardens

Choose plants native to your region. ...
Choose nectar- and pollen-rich flowers with a range of shapes, sizes, and colors. ...
Avoid modern hybrids. ...
Have several different plants in bloom from early spring through late fall. ...
Plant in drifts. ...
Avoid landscape fabric and mulch. ...
Save perennial garden cleanup for spring.

How might a pollinator garden help pollinators?

Planting in clumps will help pollinators find plants. ... Including plants that bloom at night will attract bats and moths. Reduce or eliminate pesticide use. If you must use a pesticide in your yard or garden, use the least toxic product possible.

How do you explain pollination to kindergarteners?

Pollination in plants is the process where pollen is transferred from the anther, the male part of a flower, to the stigma, the female part of a flower. Pollen can be transferred to one plant or even a nearby plant so that they can get fertilized and make more flowers.

What are some examples of plant pollinator evolution?

Hummingbird beaks and the long-tubular flowers on some of the plants they pollinate are often used as examples. Charles Darwin described an interesting case of pollinator-flowering plant coevolution in Madagascar: the star orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale, has foot-long spurs, with the nectary at the tip.

What is a pollinator friendly garden?

To attract native pollinators, an area—big or small—must offer adequate sources of food, water, and shelter. ... By maintaining natural and cultivated habitats where these insects can nest, rest, and forage, anyone can reap the rewards of healthy pollinator populations.

What can I plant for butterflies and bees?

Plants with simple, sunflower-like blooms, such as coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, asters and zinnias, generally provide both pollen and nectar. Flowering herbs, such as lavender, are excellent additions, too. Flower shapes and colors also matter to pollinators. Bees prefer white, yellow and blue blooms.

How can I encourage bees into my garden?

How to encourage bees and other pollinators

Fill gardens with RHS Plants for Pollinators plants.
Allow lawn 'weeds' to flower by cutting less often.
Provide water for pollinators.
Avoid using pesticides wherever possible and never spray open flowers.
Provide nest sites for wild bees.

How do I attract bees to my garden for pollination?

Here is some advice from the Xerces Society on what to plant to attract more bees to your garden.

Don't use pesticides. ...
Use local native plants. ...
Chose several colors of flowers. ...
Plant flowers in clumps. ...
Include flowers of different shapes. ...
Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. ...
Plant where bees will visit.

Why are pollinator gardens important?

Pollinator gardens support and maintain pollinators by supplying food in the form of pollen and nectar that will ensure that these important animals stay in the area to keep pollinating our crops for continued fruit and vegetable production. ... Best of all, pollinator gardens benefit the ecosystem.

What are the 4 steps of pollination?

Let's break the fertilization process down into four generalized steps.

Step 1: Pollination. In general, male gametes are contained in pollen, which is carried by wind, water, or wildlife (both insects and animals) to reach female gametes. ...
Step 2: Germination. ...
Step 3: Penetration of the Ovule. ...
Step 4: Fertilization.

What happens during pollination for kids?

Pollination in plants is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. This leads to fertilisation and the production of seeds.

What are the 2 types of pollination?

Pollination takes two forms: self-pollination and cross-pollination. Self-pollination occurs when the pollen from the anther is deposited on the stigma of the same flower, or another flower on the same plant.

What are bees looking for in flowers?

Bees are the champion pollinators!

These flower-seeking pollen magnets purposefully visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar for food for themselves and their young.

Which came first flowers or bees?

Either flowers actually appeared much earlier than anyone can conceive, or the first bees did without flowers for a long time, feeding on and pollinating cone-bearing, woody plants known as gymnosperms, a group that includes conifers, cycads and ferns.

How do plants depend on bees?

Pollination is needed for plants to reproduce, and so many plants depend on bees or other insects as pollinators. ... When a bee collects nectar and pollen from the flower of a plant, some pollen from the stamens—the male reproductive organ of the flower—sticks to the hairs of her body.

How do I attract bees and butterflies to my garden?

8 Ways to Attract Bees and Butterflies

Try leave-it-alone gardening. Stop obsessing over perfectly planted flower beds and weed-free lawns. ...
Go native. Local plants match the needs of nearby pollinators. ...
Mix it up. ...
Stop spraying pesticides. ...
Shop smart. ...
Plant milkweed. ...
Just add water. ...
Extra credit: Become a landlord.

Do bees like marigolds?

Their sunny, golden lion-like heads are an excellent foil for other blooming plants, and marigolds bloom all season. ... The plants do not repel honeybees, however. Marigolds and honeybees go together like beans and rice. So increase your marigolds and honeybees will come flocking.

What makes a good pollinator?

A Good Pollinator: Is highly mobile and can travel from flower to flower. Moving pollen from flowers on one plant to another plant (rather than on the same plant) is called cross-pollination.

What is a hummingbird's favorite flower?

Brightly-colored flowers that are tubular hold the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. These include perennials such as bee balms, columbines, daylilies, and lupines; biennials such as foxgloves and hollyhocks; and many annuals, including cleomes, impatiens, and petunias.

What scents attract bees?

Herbs can also be attractive to pollinators. Add plants in the mint family, including peppermint, lavender, basil, and oregano. Bees also like rosemary, sage, thyme, chamomile, marjoram, and bee balm. The heady perfume of these and other herbs often calls bees to visit your garden.

What plants are best for attracting bees?

10 Best Plants to Attract Bees

Lavender. The trusty lavender plant is an all-time favourite for bees as shown in a study conducted in 2013 by scientists at the University of Sussex. ...
Blue Borage. ...
Marjoram. ...
Abelia (Bee Bush) ...
Pussy Willow. ...
Crocus. ...
Lilac. ...
Foxgloves.