shoal creek pollen parks
TRANSCRIPT
Restoring Austin’s WildflowersHelping Austin’s Pollinators and its Citizens
Joanna Wolaver, Executive DirectorShoal Creek Conservancy
Ted Eubanks, President & FounderFermata Inc.Board member, SCC
The Plight of Pollinators
Bees are in trouble. Honey bees are not the only bees that are struggling. The total number of managed honey bee colonies has decreased from 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today.
In many places, bumblebees have declined by as much as 70%. Creating, protecting, and restoring habitat is a very important way to conserve the populations of bees that remain.
The Plight of Pollinators
Bees (wild and domestic) perform about 80% of all pollination worldwide. A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers each day!
A successful harvest depends on insect pollinators, mainly bees, for 1 of every 3 bites of food eaten worldwide. That’s most of the planet’s Top 100 food crops, or 70% of the crops providing 90% of human food.”
Wildflower Meadows
A beautifully simple solution to the problem is the creation of wildflower meadows.
The Proposal
The Shoal Creek Conservancy hopes to work with our public land agencies such as PARD and Watershed Protection in creating wildflower meadows and insect gardens in the Shoal Creek Valley. Parks that we are proposing for wildflower gardens include Duncan, Bailey, and Wooldridge Square.
Benefits
Ecological
Storm water retention.
Storm water infiltration.
Restoration of regional wildflower meadows.
Restoration of pollinator populations.
Restoration of butterflies such as the monarch.
Education
Adult – what you can do in a home garden.
Children –educational program about pollinators titled “What a Bee Sees.”
Aesthetic
Economic
Tourism
Recreation
Gardening
85 million U.S. gardeners.
America's 85 million DIY gardeners spend an average of $347 a year on plants and gardening products.
Gardening “for the greater good” is growing in popularity.
Details
Bordered beds.
Wildflower appropriate soils.
In the case of Duncan, structured for infiltration.
Appropriate wildflower species.
Installed by professionals, maintained by volunteers.
DetailsInterpretation
Three (3) interpretive signs.
Wildflower
Pollinators
Plight and What You Can Do
QR codes to .mobisites with additional information.
Trails2go app.
Duncan Park
Duncan Park
Wooldridge Square
