(Image provided by Save the Dunes)
(Image provided by Save the Dunes)
With more and more sunlight and warmer temperatures Region residents may get the urge to start cleaning up yards and gardens, but experts urge everyone to please wait. Save the Dunes says it is extremely important to hold off on tidying up, like cutting back last year’s growth, removing leaves, raking, or mulching, until we’ve had seven consecutive days above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The nonprofit says it’s “truly a matter of life and death for the pollinators who have spent the winter in your garden.” They say many of them survive the winter months by burrowing into standing dead flower stalks or taking cover in leaf or brush piles in garden beds, and several bee species burrow underground and rely on the leaf litter above them for insulation against the cold. Disturbing these protective areas before the pollinators have had a chance to emerge means you’re disposing of more than just old leaves and twigs, Save the Dunes said, and waiting a little longer gives our pollinating friends time to emerge and live on to support your garden and the Earth throughout the year.
For more information on this topic, read the Save the Dunes blog post at
https://savedunes.org/protect-our-pollinators/ .
