Dover shows passion for pollinators
Zizia aurea
Russ Volkert, Dover fire chief, spearheaded the incorporation of a pollinator-friendly habitat within the landscape of the North Dover Fire Station through collaborations with Sustainable Wildlife Area Restoration Movement.
SWARM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Tuscarawas County with a focus on combating pollinator decline by re-establishing native habitats, raising awareness of pollinator decline and provided education on pollinator conservation.
The habitat is located in the front landscape of the fire station on Dublin Drive off North Wooster Avenue in Dover. The space is comprised of 14 plant species to include butterfly larval host plants such as butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus) and golden Alexander (Zizia aurea).
The habitat accounts for an overlap in bloom time, which means there will always be something in bloom from spring through fall. “This space was fun to design,” said Rome Marinelli, SWARM co-founder and lead habitat technician. “We used native plants that bloom yellow, orange, red and shades in between to play off the theme of fire. Most of these plant species also exhibit excellent fall interest, which means that our color theme will continue through winter, showcasing deep reds, browns and oranges.”
Marinelli said throughout the winter the seed heads will provide for overwintering song birds.
“Pollinators need all the help they can get,” Marinelli said. “Over recent decades [mankind has] expanded our cities, made more space for homes, cleared space for agriculture and encroached into the vital habitat that pollinators need.”
Marinelli explained that land use such as housing development and agriculture is vital for health, but there is a balance. He continued to say mankind isn’t inherently bad, and there exists simple steps to help provide for pollinators and wildlife.
“When we expand and make room for new housing developments, we take an often biodiverse, healthy area and replace it with a non-native pollinator resource lacking lawn,” he said. “To add insult to injury, some then choose to treat their lawn, often on a regular basis, with chemicals known to be harmful to insects to maintain a desolate lawn.”
Solutions lie in agriculture too. “By providing native habitat on farmlands or around backyard gardens, you can increase the yield of those crops that require cross pollination,” Marinelli said. “Beneficial insects such as predaceous beetles and wasps are encouraged to ‘feast’ in these native habitats too. Beneficial insects help to keep pesky insects at bay. This can result in a lower chemical footprint. But there are truly many benefits to providing native habitat.”
Pollinators have caught a lot of attention lately. The services they provide are becoming better recognized. Many individuals and cities have begun taking action to help save monarchs, native bees and other native wildlife.
“It’s simple. Provide native plants,” Marinelli said.
Native plants are those plants that naturally occur in a region and predate European migration.
“Imagine the flora that occurred here before any of us or our ancestors arrived. Those are the plants that insects and other animals have evolved with to survive,” Marinelli said.
As collective actions to save pollinators take flight, many cities across the nation have taken action and adopted strategies to help.
“Expanding and maximizing city greenspace, incentivizing native rain gardens to help reduce stress on local sewer systems, having development policies where new businesses are encouraged to landscape with native plants in keeping with the natural heritage of the area, all would be a huge step in the right direction,” Marinelli said. “What Dover has done with this fire station is exemplary, and we need other cities to follow suit.”
For more information on SWARM, visit its Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/SWARMtogether or email Rome@SWARMtogether.com.