What’s all the buzz? Master naturalists, gardeners offer lessons on pollinators

It’s that time where the bees are buzzing and butterflies are fluttering around. Johnson County Extension’s master naturalists have some tips if you want to make sure these pollinators are coming to your garden.

The group will help the extension service host Wonders of Discovery, an event focused on native pollinators and their environment, June 20 at the Pollinator Prairie garden.

Various groups will have booths showcasing different related topics, including Operation Wildlife, Monarch Watch, Compost Collective KC, the Environmental Protection Agency, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Olathe Public Library and Northeast Kansas Beekeepers Association.

At least three of the booths will have hands-on crafts or games. The extension service’s master gardeners will show off a caterpillar display, and the master naturalists will have multiple exhibits.

One of those exhibits will focus on “peculiar pollinators” like ants, wasps, flies and moths that people don’t usually think about in relation to pollination.

Mariruth Gruis, an extension master naturalist since 2017, loves that the Pollinator Prairie puts an emphasis on teaching people why it’s important to have native plants in your yard instead of non-native ones you might find at your local store.

“Some of them (non-natives) can be invasive. Some of them are not invasive, but they’re just pretty, and they don’t provide any benefit to the pollinator community. Our native insects are wanting native plants. That’s what they’ve developed to eat from and shelter in and do their reproduction on,” Gruis said.

An event like Wonders of Discovery allows Gruis and others to show how to boost pollinators in a space the size of a typical yard.

“We’re trying to help people see that you can take a small space and still use native plantings and have it not look crazy and weedy and unfriendly,” Gruis said.

On the Pollinator Prairie site alone, a study observed 40 different species of bees making use of the garden.

If you want to draw butterflies to your garden, you can get ideas at this event on what species of plants they need to lay their eggs and which ones they need for getting nectar.

“A title we use is ‘gardening for nature.’ How do we do insect control without using chemicals? How can you mulch without using herbicides?” Gruis said.

It’s also a good way for people to make contact with an array of organizations that provide many types of support.

“People that come to these events are presented with lots of different resources,” said Amy Keigher, natural resources agent for Johnson County Extension.

Beyond information, visitors may find groups they didn’t know how to contact, or others — like Monarch Watch — they didn’t know existed, she said.

Coming to Wonders of Discovery can also be a way to learn of new volunteer opportunities with any of these groups. Although some activities will be geared toward kids, the learning opportunities are for everyone.

“It’s just kind of amazing when you see a very young kid, and sometimes they’re just so eager and ready to learn more. And other times it’s that ‘aha’ moment they have,” Gruis said.

“But quite frankly, you see that in all ages, too. Anybody can learn, no matter how old you are, if you’re open to learning something and implementing something new.”

Keigher said she thinks seeing what the Pollinator Prairie has become after being an EPA Superfund site gives people hope about making a difference.

“It’s a really good example of how you don’t have to feel that all is lost. You have a situation where remediation has to be done, but look where this has gone. People have come together and have made a situation that started off not so good, and we’ve turned it around,” Keigher said.

Wonders of Discovery runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 20, at 320 S. Blake St. in Olathe.