Save the pollinators! (Guess who cares)

bumblebee covered with pollen (I took this photo in Georgia)

In today's divisive political climate, government programs receive a lot of criticism just for existing; they are targeted as if they are monstrous ships of some threatening enemy. The work that they do, the people (citizens of this great country) who do that work, are collateral damage, not considered worth discussing. Instead, the focus is on "big government" and money, subjects all taken out of context in order to make the target easier to hit, in order to desensitize--and propagandize--the public over what will be the real consequences of destroying the target. Everyone complains about government programs until they realize that they benefit. I know people who have complained about welfare recipients, and then they discover their own need for government help in a financial crisis. Suddenly, the rules regarding governmental aid are too stringent; they need their money now and their loved ones provided for.

One of the recent targets of "big government" critics is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as I have discussed in a previous post about one of the Service's marshland reclamation projects. When I was ruminating on the disappearance of pollinators in a post yesterday, I discovered a web page of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that is devoted to pollinators. On that page, one can learn about all of the Service's programs dedicated to protecting pollinators, about the non-governmental organizations (private and non-profit) that partner with the Service to create a web of projects around the country to protect pollinators, about the status of pollinators and the importance of those creatures to the life of our planet--to our lives.

When I get ready to plant that butterfly/pollinator garden I mentioned in my previous post (and I'm planning already), I can go to this U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's web page for advice and information: "Pollinators: What You Can Do to Help."  That page also includes links to web videos and to other sources for information. If my children were young, I could connect them to the "Neighborhood Explorers" page, with its educational videos and suggestions for outdoor activities. (Though I know a couple of young adult artists, writers, and computer programmers who could add something to the art and animation of some of these programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs to hire them when they complete their graduate degrees!)

An important goal of such government programs is educational outreach, and since these services are public services, paid for by us, with our taxes, that means education for us, the public. Local offices and refuges of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provide activities for folks in those areas. For example, one of the big events here in Southeast Louisiana is the "Wild Things" event, held every October at the Bayou Lacombe Center, in Lacombe, Louisiana. I attended that event last year and was very impressed with the hands-on activities available for the hundreds of children who showed up with their parents for the day-long event.

Young participant in "Wild Things 2011" shows us what she discovered in an owl pellet

Children learn about what birds eat at the "Wild Things" event

The Bayou Lacombe Center of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also has a butterfly garden on its grounds and other flowering plants throughout to attract pollinators. On the U. S. Fish and Wildlife pollinator page, visitors can locate pollinator gardens on the refuges in the areas where they live, too: "Pollinator Gardens & Trails." And if they don't find such a pollinator garden on a refuge near them, they can get in touch with the refuge office nearest their home to ask about other services available and, perhaps, to get a community group involved in starting a pollinator garden in partnership with their local U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service office.

One of the many free educational programs that the Southeast Louisiana division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers for school groups is the "Incredible Insect Pollinators" classroom interactive presentation for 3rd and 4th graders.

So, yeah, I'm glad that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is one government agency that cares about protecting birds, bees, butterflies, bats, and other creatures that pollinate nearly 75% of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables that we eat, and I'm happy that my taxes help pay for all of the associated programs. And I don't apologize for my support.

Now I've got to get back to planning my own pollinator garden.