Woodlands wanting to plant for bees – 29 August 2019
The Woodlands School Pukeko class inquiry this year is sustainability with a focus on bees. They have learnt a lot about bees already and have been looking at how they can make bees more sustainable at school and in their local Outdoor Learning Area in their community. So today at the nursery we had fun learning about planting plants that attract bees – with a focus on NZ native plants. We looked very closely at flowers or pictures of flowers (as at this time of year there are only a few natives flowering such as kowhai, kakabeak and fuchsia). The students used their fantastic knowledge of flower parts and pollination to identify all the parts, and we discussed aspects like colour, size and the shape of the flowers and how these flowers are used by plants to attract bees and other pollinators to the plant in order for it to be pollinated – plants really are quite clever! We explored who and what else pollinates native plants - native bees, moths and butterflies, flies, birds, other animals such as bats and geckos and wind. Chris got a bit carried away by the number of native bees – there are actually 28 species of native bee. Dodging the hail showers we went on a bush walk around the pond looking at all the different species of NZ native plants, and looking at the layers in the forest – an ecosystem of plants, insects, birds and other life. After lunch we potted up some manuka seedlings – bees love manuka flowers! The hail blasted us again as we potted up but it was fun (and the education centre was close by for shelter!).
There are many good reasons for planting trees, shrubs and flowers to attract bees to your place for the benefit of both the bees and the plants. Many Southland native species provide flowers that attract bees and there are a number of resources that have been compiled to help you choose appropriate species for our Region – see https://www.southlandcommunitynursery.org.nz/restoring-your-patch/planning-your-project/planting-for-bees/
Posted: 2 September 2019