It's National Pollinator Week, 6.21-27

The fourth annual celebration of pollinators -- those birds, bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other creatures that contribute to humans' food supply -- began yesterday. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack pointed out that pollinators play critical roles in the reproduction of 90 percent of flowering plants and one-third of human food crops.

The National Pollinator Week kit provides great resources about pollinators and for NPW events. The "For Kids" section includes a pollinator crossword puzzle, details about building a bee condo and a list of five things that children can do to help pollinators.

The "Fast Facts" section offers a page for educators and students, and it provides a link to a curriculum for grades 3-6 from North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. The curriculum includes six modules and points out that more than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including apples, almonds, blueberries, cranberries, melons, pears and plums.

North American Pollinator Protection Campaign offers more details on its website, including information from a 2006 study that described the decline of pollinator populations, including hummingbirds.

Chicago zoo's pond becomes a nature boardwalk

In late June, Lincoln Park Zoo plans to reveal the transformation of its South Pond into the Nature Boardwalk. More than 100 newly planted hawthorns, birch, oaks, serviceberry and other trees will provide shade, food and nesting sites for native and migratory birds, such as owls, waterfowl and Black-crowned Night-Herons among others, according to the zoo.

The 14-acre site will include native prairie and wetland vegetation that can provide wildlife habitat and filter the pond’s water quality, and the Lester E. Fisher Bridge will include structures to encourages swallows to nest there. Daily tours and talks -- such as “Feathered Friends,” “Fishy Fun” and “Exploring an Ecosystem” -- will give visitors the chance to learn even more.

Existing facilities at the free zoo include the Flamingo Habitat, Hope B. McCormick Swan Pond, Kovler Penguin and Seabird House, McCormick Bird House and Regenstein Birds of Prey Exhibit.

Black-crowned Night-Heron courtesy of Gator Farm

Park in downtown Detroit earns honors

A 2.5-acre park in Detroit recently garnered national recognition as the first winner of the Urban Land Institute Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award. Campus Martius Park features extensive landscaping, moveable seating and an ice skating rink; attracts more than 2 million visitors each year; and spurred approximately $700 million of nearby development, including cafes, retail shops and corporate headquarters.


According to ULI:

The selection of Campus Martius Park illustrates the power of well-designed open space to make a tangible difference in the quality of life in urban areas, said award creator Amanda M. Burden, chair of the New York City Planning Commission, director of the New York Department of City Planning, and 2009 laureate of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. “This park has far exceeded all expectations, in terms of the lift it has provided to Detroit’s social and economic well-being,” Ms. Burden said.

“It reflects a creative, innovative approach to transforming an eyesore into a jewel. What makes Campus Martius Park work so well is that quite simply, it’s a place where people want to spend time. As a result, it’s a magnet for investment. That’s the definition of a successful urban open space.”


A $10,000 cash prize is being awarded to the Detroit 300 Conservancy, which originally developed the park as a legacy gift to the city. According to Detroit 300 Conservancy President Robert F. Gregory, the organization had unwavering faith in former Mayor Dennis Archer’s goal of building “one of the best public spaces in the world” in Detroit.

I'd like to think that the birds also find the park to be a great space amid the urban environment.