Horticulture staff at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, with the help of volunteers from the Friends of the Acadian Forest Society are working with Noggins Corner Farm to develop a low cost, simple ‘Native Plant Pollinator Package’ to help attract pollinators to agricultural land in the Annapolis Valley. 

This project aims to show farmers the importance of planting native species to help attract pollinators to agricultural crops. Native plants are great at attracting native bees which are important crop pollinators. They improve crop yield and are essential to farmers. Valuable fruit crops such as apples and cherries are highly dependent on native pollinators.

Food crops are not pollinated by bees alone. Butterflies and hoverflies also play an important role in crop pollination, these insects can be attracted to agricultural areas by planting native species in large colour blocks. Pollinators are in decline partly due to habitat loss. Introducing native plants to small pockets of agricultural land is a great way to support pollinators and improve biodiversity. Planting native pollinator plants is important for agriculture, food security, our economy and our planet as a whole.