Your garden as a pollinator-friendly oasis

Researchers as far apart as Georgia Tech and the University of Plymouth in the U.K. have observed the increase in bees moving into urban environments.

Some species that are in trouble in rural areas are thriving in city gardens.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, cities are becoming home and habitat to a surprising variety of wildlife including bears, coyote and fox.

Once scientists realized the potential of residential gardeners to provide habitat for wildlife under pressure in its native range, university extensions have begun sponsoring programs to encourage homeowners to include wildlife habitat on their property.

Save the Pollinators

Cornell Ornithology created a website called "Nest Watch" to help homeowners build nesting boxes for birds that are under pressure to find good nesting sites.

They also sponsor "Project Feeder Watch" for citizen scientists who want to put up a feeder and count birds in the winter.

For the past couple years, Penn State has been certifying gardens as pollinator friendly in order to engage residential and community gardeners in saving our pollinators.

Carbon County has three certified public gardens, and one certified private garden, with more on the way.

The public gardens are located at the Dimmick Library on Broadway in Jim Thorpe, Bear Mountain Butterflies on Route 903 in Penn Forest, and the demonstration garden at the Penn State Extension office on Lentz Trail in Jim Thorpe.

Visit these gardens to see how they are designed with pollinators in mind.

Carbon County Master Gardeners hope to add a public garden in the Palmerton area this year, and we are searching for a site in the Penn Kidder area.

Wildlife habitat

In Carbon County where trees dominate, unused corners of the landscape can tend to become a bit of a jungle of saplings, brambles, and weeds.

These are perfect spots to create a wild life habitat. Remove the plants you don't want, and replace them with understory trees and shrubs that provide food and shelter for local wildlife. Include a few nesting boxes, and bee houses. The oasis you provide can make a life and death difference for a stressed animal.

Composting

A compost pile built directly on the ground and made up of autumn leaves, plant debris, and table scraps in the right proportion can become a haven for soil life.

The compost soon attracts beneficial microorganisms and earthworms looking for food. In the process of feeding on bits of table scraps and soil microbes, the worms infuse the compost with nutrient rich castings.

The mature worms also produce fertilized eggs held in tiny protective cocoons. When you apply the compost to your garden, you transfer all the life in the compost as well.

This helps to replenish your garden soil and improve its structure, and it also creates a habitat for soil life.

Master Gardeners are your resource

Carbon County Master Gardeners are prepared to help you design a pollinator friendly garden or a wildlife oasis in your yard. They can answer your gardening questions at our green line on Tuesdays from March 17 to mid-October.

They are available for presentations, educational programs and workshops.

Each year, we schedule several programs open to the public where we cover topics like raising great tomatoes, composting and soil management, planting and propagation, proper pruning techniques and more.

We hope to see you at some of our events scheduled in the coming months.

Schedule of upcoming events through June 2015:

• Tuesday: First day for the green line

• Saturday: Tomatoes Seed to Table a workshop held each spring at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center where you plant tomato seeds in newspaper pots and learn how to raise the seedlings and transplant them into your garden.

• April 11: Time to Plant! Annual spring workshop covering soil preparation, composting, planting seeds, companion planting, birds in the garden, butterflies, and individual Q&A time with a Master Gardener.

You plant herb seeds in newspaper pots and learn how to raise the seedlings and transplant them into your garden.

You also have an opportunity to get free milkweed seeds from Bear Mountain Butterflies and become part of the "Save our Monarchs" network.

• June 15-21: National Pollinator Week celebrations.

This will be a week when you can tour the public pollinator gardens in Carbon County and receive free literature and instructions on planting to save our pollinators.

These events are open to the public.

Registration and a materials fee is required for Tomatoes Seed to Table, and Time to Plant!

For more information and to register, please contact the Penn State Extension office at 529 Lentz Train, Jim Thorpe; 570-325-2788.

You can also add your name to our email notification list to receive notice of events yet to be scheduled.