Our pollinator garden-in-a-pot in front of Backyard Birds has gotten a lot of interest since we planted it.

Each plant is native to this area and is beneficial to our pollinating animals such as birds, bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, or other animals, or by the wind.

Why Does Pollination Matter?

• Worldwide, roughly 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines need to be pollinated by animals in order to produce the goods on which we depend.
• Foods and beverages produced with the help of pollinators include: apples, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla, almonds, and tequila.
• In the United States, pollination by honey bees, native bees, and other insects produces $40 billion worth of products annually.

What can you do to promote and protect pollinators?

Create a wildlife habitat in your backyard using plants for pollinators:

• Cultivate native plans, especially those that provide nectar and larval food for pollinators
• Install hummingbird feeders, bee houses, nesting boxes
• Supply salt or mineral licks for butterflies and bird baths and other water sources for all wildlife
• Reduce pesticide use
• Substitute flower beds for lawns

Watch for pollinators:

• Experience time outdoors and work with plants and animals
• Make your voice be heard for wildlife conservation and pollinators – The Butterfly Highway Project, Garden for Wildlife

Reduce your impact:

• Buy locally produced or organic food
• Walk, cycle, use public transit, carpool, telecommute
• Reduce your consumption – reduce, recycle, reuse

Do Your Part

Backyard Birds offers a unique in-store shopping experience, highlighting the joy and excitement of attracting wildlife with the finest quality seed and the best quality feeders, bird houses, bird baths and more.

Preserve our natural heritage and protect our local wildlife by planting more native plants local to our area. Contact Carolina Heritage Nursery for a list of plants recommended by The Butterfly Highway project.

The Butterfly Highway Project Supported by The National Wildlife Federation

The Butterfly Highway started as a community based citizen science and environmental restoration project in Charlotte, NC. It is supported by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation as a statewide initiative to promote pollinator and wildlife habitat conservation.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife Program

Garden for Wildlife helps people restore habitat and wildlife populations to our cities, towns and neighborhoods. Since 1973, the program has been educating and empowering people turn their own small piece of the Earth–their yards and gardens–into thriving habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. In doing so, the Garden for Wildlife program helps wildlife and gives people a daily connection to the natural world, literally right outside their door.