BRIGHTON, N.Y. – Nearly 30% of pollinators are facing extinction, a crucial part of the food chain. Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean visited a pollinator garden in Brighton, highlighting efforts to support these vital insects.
Tom Snyder, director of programming and conservation at the Seneca Park Zoo Society, emphasized the importance of native plants.
“Native is important because it supports the native food web we have,” Snyder said. “So the native insects like Monarch butterflies and all of those native insects which help pollinate all the apple trees and all the food source we have around, this type of garden supports that more than anything.”
For the past eight years, the Seneca Park Zoo has been taking seeds from their pollinator garden to various entities across the state. This initiative has resulted in approximately 125 acres of pollinator gardens.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation says that more than a third of pollinators in the state are at risk of extinction, a decline that began 50 years ago. However, a report by Environment America says New York is doing better.
A honeycomb map of the country says New York allows only certified applicators to buy neonic pesticides. Neonics are in seed coverings that go into the tissue of plants and poison bees. Other states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Florida and North Carolina don’t have any restriction.
New York State is doing a lot right,” said David Mazur of Environment New York.
Berkeley Brean: “What can New York still do?”
Mazur: “The one policy out of the five main recommendations…is block the use of these dangerous pesticides known as neonics in state wildlife areas and similar public lands.”
Megan Meyer from Healthy Yards Monroe County, who helped plant a native pollinator garden behind the First Unitarian Church on Winton Road, explained the significance of these pollinators.
“These bees also pollinate 80-90% of all flowering plants including our food,” Meyer said. “So without these pollinators or a decline in pollinators, we’re going to have some problems with our food sources.”
While the Brighton garden is small, the aim is for more people to plant pollinator plants in their gardens. The focus is on native plants, as they are believed to have evolved alongside the bees, creating a symbiotic relationship.
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