It’s Pollinator Week! Let’s Pay Tribute To Our Little Flying Friends
This is a week worth celebrating along with our friends at the Disney Conservation Fund! National Pollinator Week is devoted to are little fluttery friends that help the flowers bloom including bees and butterflies! Though you may not realize it, these are pretty important critters and add $15 billion of value to crops in the United State each year!
That’s why we thought we’d share some information with you about these awesome insects!
What is a Pollinator?
The name pollinator refers to any animal that helps flowering plants reproduce by moving the pollen from one plant to another. These little fellas are responsible for the fruit we eat, the veggies in our salad and so much more!
Some of the best pollinators in the world are bees.There are more than 20,000 kinds of bees in the world including the ones that we’re most familiar with like honey bees and bumble bees. However, they come in a wide range of different shapes and sizes. Some are teeny tiny like a fruity fly and others are hug (up to the size of a ping-pong ball) they also range in color from black and yellow striped to iridescent purple!
Other pollinators I’m sure you’re familiar with includes butterflies, flies, hummingbirds and even bats! They have such an important job to do considering 90% of flowering plants need pollinating insects to help them reproduce. That means without them, our diets would be pretty boring.
Making a Difference
National Pollinator Week may sound silly but its actually to raise awareness for the fact the pollinators are declining around the world. That’s why Walt Disney World has a commitment to being as pollinator-friendly as possible. Over 70 different pollinator species have been seen around the resort. Disney even created special pollinator-friendly gardens near Disney’s new 270-acre solar facility which provides clean energy to Walt Disney World Resort.
In addition, the Disney Conservation Fund has also supported nonprofits that protect more than 70 species of pollinators around the world. Among these organizations is the University of Florida who has a team that who are working to protect 42 species of at-risk butterflies in Florida and California. One of the biggest accomplishments of this collaboration was when 3,400 Atala butterflies, 10, 500 endangered Miami blue butterflies and 1,000 Schaus’ swallowtails were released in the wild!
What You Can Do To Help
There are a handful of awesome ways that you can celebrate National Pollinator week. Previously here on MickeyBlog we shared with you details on making a pollinator garden which you can find here.
You can also reach out to a local nursery and ask what types of native pollinator plants could be added to your home garden. For instance, at Disney World, horticulturalists try to create diverse gardens with all types of flowers and trees in the hopes that it will attract a greater variety of Pollinators.
You can also find ways to support the Disney Conservation Fund so that they can continue their work of providing support to charities that protect pollinators all over the world. You can find out more here.
Did you know that 2021 Walt Disney World vacation packages will be available to book starting this week? If you’d like a quote for your Magical Disney getaway when pricing is available (June 28th), you can get a jumpstart on the process by fill out our form below for your FREE no-obligation quote.
Find articles like this helpful? Then why not consider working with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner? As an agent with MickeyTravels, I’ll be on hand to assist you with everything from finding your perfect package to helping you plan lots of special touches to make your visit truly magical. Best of all my services are absolutely FREE. Get in touch at 1.800.801.4025 via email at mroden@mickeytravels.comor follow along on Facebook
