Local groups, school join pollinator program

Pineview Elementary School and the Summer Outdoor Adventure Club are the two newest members of a countywide effort to improve the survival of bees, bats and butterflies.

The Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Department and University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension-Sauk County started the program to empower people to protect pollinators. One goal is increasing pollinator habitats through gardening kits. These free packages were made available to qualifying organizations due to funding from the County and the Ho-Chunk Nation.

Kits include more than 32 plants for a 10’ by 5’ plot, as well as instructions for how to bring in bees and butterflies.

Pineview Elementary already has its Garden School so it has extensive experience with horticulture. Meanwhile, the Sauk County Outdoor Adventure Club plans to plant its garden at the Hartje Outdoor Learning Center in Reedsburg.

Other organizations are also lined up to receive kits. Local ones include the Reedsburg Boys and Girls Club, Dutch Hollow Lake Property Owners Association, Kids Ranch in Rock Springs, Lake Redstone POA Garden Club at La Valle Town Hall and La Valle Area Community Action at the 400 State Trail.

Sauk County unveiled the program due to declines in the world’s pollinator populations. Pollution, chemical misuse, diseases, climate changes and loss of habitat have contributed to this downfall.

Pollinators are integral to the survival of not only humans but other animals. They sustain natural resources and ecosystems by making plants grow and thrive.

The County encourages the public to do what it can as well, even if it’s in their own backyard. For ideas, visit https://sauk.extension.wisc.edu/.