How Planting Flowers Can Help Save the Environment

Our Maola farmers incorporate many sustainability tools to handle their crops, their waste, and even to care for their animals (recycled bedding, anyone?!)… but there is another way that some of our farms are taking environmental responsibility to the next level.

Pennsylvania Maola dairy farmer, Jim, is a prime example of this, having set aside an acre of his land for another type of animal – and we’re not talking about cows! Jim has planted three separate habitats filled with wildflowers and vegetation as nesting grounds for pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, moths, and even birds, on his land.  

It’s National Pollinator Week this week, the official time to celebrate these critical members of the ecosystem. According to the Pollinator Partnership, pollinators are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Pollinators, who carry pollen from plant to plant, help fertilize plants so that they can bear fruits and vegetables. However, pollinator populations are in decline due to loss in feeding and nesting habitats as a result of disease, pollution, and changes in our climate. Jim’s farm helps to reverse this decline by securing important nesting and feeding grounds for our pollinators.

Jim dedicated his first half-acre to pollinators on his farm more than ten years ago. His pollinator habitats have now doubled in size, and can be found in three different spots on his farm.   

Jim’s pollinator habitats include different species of flowers that bloom continuously from early spring until late fall, which ensures that the pollinators have food sources and nesting grounds all year round.

It’s not just the pollinators that benefit. By planting flowers, Jim and his family also get to enjoy the abundance of blooms. In Jim’s own words: “The fragrance is something that I have never experienced to that extent elsewhere in my 65 years.”

…and it’s not just Maola farmers that can make a difference to pollinators.

Everyone can help out, even if you can’t plant acres of habitats. The Pollinator Partnership says you can reduce or eliminate the impact of pesticides at home, buy local honey, and even planting flowers to establish a pollinator garden in your own home. Plus, what’s not to love about having your very own flower garden at home?