Press release

Spring is on the way – and that means bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators are, too. Insects and birds bring much more to backyards than buzzing activity: in fact, they are the key to keeping the entire Eastern Sierra landscape beautiful and productive, year after year.

Yet bees and butterflies are disappearing. Impacted by disease, pesticides, and the loss of open spaces, pollinators like these are now in danger.

There’s good news, though. By creating beautiful, blooming havens for pollinators, gardeners across the Eastern Sierra can keep their backyards – along with the entire region – thriving for years to come.

Bishop-based non-profit Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT) has been helping local gardeners create and certify pollinator habitats since 2014 – and they are ready to assist anyone who would like to create a pollinator-friendly garden this spring.

All those interested in attracting bees, butterflies, and birds to their yard are encouraged to attend ESLT’s free Pollinator Garden Workshop, to be held on Saturday, April 8th from 10am to 12pm at Inyo Council for the Arts (137 S. Main St. in Bishop).

With support from US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Pollinator Garden Workshop will provide guidance, information, and resources to anyone ready to harness the power of pollinators and create their own pollinator haven. During the Workshop, local experts from California Native Plant Society, Eastern Sierra Audubon, Master Gardeners, and more will share tips about native plants, plant nutrition, irrigation, and everything else needed to get a pollinator-friendly garden growing this spring.

The Pollinator Garden Workshop will also help prepare gardeners who want to create their own certified pollinator garden through ESLT’s Eastside Pollinator Garden Project. Once a pollinator garden is ready to be planted, ESLT will award the participating gardener a $125 voucher for purchasing native plants. ESLT will also certify these gardens as pollinator habitat, and give gardeners a Certified Pollinator Garden plaque to post when the certification process is complete.

Eastern Sierra Land Trust is committed to permanently conserving the Eastern Sierra’s wild and productive lands. Since launching their Eastside Pollinator Garden Project in 2014, a major focus of ESLT’s work has been making sure that bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators have places to thrive by helping local community members build safe havens for pollinators. Since the Eastside Pollinator Garden Project began, ESLT has certified 75 gardens and community spaces in Inyo and Mono Counties as pollinator-friendly.

Those unable to attend the workshop are encouraged to stop by Eastern Sierra Land Trust’s annual celebration of spring, GardenFest, to be held in ESLT’s office backyard (250 N. Fowler St. in Bishop) on May 6th.

For more information about the Eastside Pollinator Garden Project and the upcoming workshop, please contact ESLT Education Coordinator/AmeriCorps Member, Indigo Johnson, at [email protected] or (760) 873-4554.

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Eastern Sierra Land Trust works with willing landowners to protect vital lands in the Eastern Sierra region for their scenic, agricultural, natural, recreational, historical, and watershed values. To learn more about ESLT’s work and how to get involved, visit www.eslt.org.

 


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