Bees, Bugs & Butterflies

Bees, Bugs & Butterflies

We are so excited for week 3 of Camp E & E! We’re meeting insects and the like this week! But first, we are taking the campers to garden here at camp to get our hands dirty! We’ll be planting a bee and butterfly garden. So get your pots, soil and garden tools out! We’re helping the bees!

Tips for planting a Bee Friendly Garden:

• Plant native flowers and herbs to your area. Some good choices are: sunflowers, lavender (which keeps mosquitoes away), basil, blueberries, blackberries, black eyed susans, peonies, bachelor buttons, tulips, goldenrod and honeysuckle.
• Plant the same flowers in one group or row.
• Try to pick plants that bloom more than once in a season.
• Fill a shallow dish with rocks and fresh water for the bees to drink!
• Make sure to not use any pesticides and herbicides in your garden. They are toxic to bees.
• Leave the weeds! Clover, dandelions and milkweed are all important to bees and butterflies! Weeds are friends!

Bees are essential for the survival of all living things! Without bees to pollinate food and crops, we will all be in big trouble! Unfortunately our bee friend populations are in steep decline. So let’s give them a chance and some great habitats! And if you have deer or rabbits that nibble your garden, that’s ok too!