Did you know you can cultivate effective pollination for your crops by creating natural bee habitat for our more than 350 known bees in Vermont? Our bee biologist also happens to be a farmer near Burlington and has created a suite of resources just for farmers.
Know Your 5
With more than 350 species of bees in Vermont, it’s daunting to understand them all. For each crop below, we have summarized the pollination needs and identified five bees or other pollinators that provide pollination services, or are supported by each crop. By identifying and understanding the natural history of these bees, you can provide the specific habitat that will help to ensure resilient and abundant pollination services and the tasty treats that result.
And we’ve created two additional resources to help with plant selection and sourcing: a select list of native pollinator plants and a list of sources for native plants and seeds.
Top Pollinator Plants for Farms
Brambles: Raspberries, Blackberries, and Black Raspberries
Stone Fruit: Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Apricots
Physalis: Ground Cherries and Tomatillos
A joint VCE and UVM Extension project through the Vermont Pollinator Working Group. Created by Spencer Hardy and Laura Johnson with funding from an Apis Fund Award from the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont.
Hayfields and Grassland Birds
Are you the proud owner of a 10-acre-plus hayfield? Then you could be a part of protecting grassland birds, which are undergoing the most drastic decline of any bird community in the continental United States.
Webinar: Meadows, Mountains, and Moraines: The history (and future) of Northeastern Grassland with
Kevin Tolan, hosted by the Green Mountain Audubon Society
Eastern Meadowlarks have declined in Vermont over the last 50 years. VCE biologist Kevin Tolan discusses the 2022 Eastern Meadowlark report and what studies suggest about the future of this bird in Vermont. (48 mins)
Recorded Workshop: Managing Grasslands for Birds
Kevin Tolan, former VCE biologist Liza Morse, and Vermont Land Trust’s Pieter van Loon hosted this virtual workshop about grassland bird ecology and habitat management for landowners. (1 h 16 min)
