From our sanctuary to yours...

PRECIOUS POLLINATORS! 

 

First name / Friend,, this week we extracted our very first batch of honey from the sanctuary's apiary. As in everything we do, we stay mindful of what's best for our precious pollinators and only harvested the excess honey, ensuring the bees have plenty left for their months ahead. In this way, we work side-by-side, heart-to-heart with the creatures in our midst. It's an honor to provide organic flowers and vegetables, lush meadows, flowering trees and native grasses to all the creatures who call the sanctuary home or just make a migratory visit. To see the variety of butterflies, birds and other insects fluttering and buzzing through the meadows is the simplest of beauties and yet, seems all the harder to find in this world. But we know this is changing. We see it in our workshops and we see it in the people and communities who want to do more. So, please join us in celebrating ALL our precious pollinators who support our farms, our gardens and just make this world a more beautiful place. 

Jenny Hubbard

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 Friends, we got you covered!

 

AMAZING MONARCHS!

How does a monarch caterpillar transform into the beautiful butterfly we hold so dear? Sanctuary friend, Sandy Schill, explains their remarkable physical journey from ground creature to winged inspiration.

 
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SEPTEMBER 19th - MONARCHS, MEADOWS & MORE!

The sanctuary is all aflutter over our upcoming FREE “Sunday at the Sanctuary” event – MONARCHS, MEADOWS & MORE! Join us as we explore the wonders of butterflies, bees and pollinators, the plants that sustain them, and how to protect these incredible creatures.

 Animals, we got you covered!

 

BATS - the unsung heroes of the pollinator world!

Bats have gotten a bad rap lately for no fault of their own. These creatures provide so many benefits to people and the environment, including their skill to pollinate. In fact, over 530 species of flowering plants rely on bats as either their major or exclusive pollinators!

 

Did you know?

Not all bats eat insects!

Eating insects is by far the most common diet found among the 1,300 species of bats worldwide, however, the pollinating role of nectar-feeding bats is just as important.

 

Flowers produce a musty, rotten odor to attract bats

While some of the flowers that attract bats can be quite beautiful, you probably wouldn’t want to receive a bouquet of them. To attract these flying mammals flowering plants have evolved a musty or rotten perfume.

 

Without bats we would have no tequila

Are you an adult who enjoys Tequila? Then you need to raise your glass to the pollinating bats that helped to bring it to us! Tequila is made from the agave plant, which relies solely on bats to pollinate its flowers and reproduce.

 

One species of nectar-feeding bat has the longest mammal tongue in the world

The rare Anoura fistulata, a nectar-feeding bat from South America, is only the size of a mouse, but its tongue is around 8.5 centimeters long, making it up to 150% of its body length! With such a long tongue it couldn’t possibly keep all of it in its mouth. Instead, A. fistulata keeps the tongue in its chest, in a cavity between the heart and sternum.

 

Thank you to the National Wildlife Federation for these fun pollinating bat facts!

 Environment, we got you covered!

 

Have you heard the BUZZ? Native ecotype plants are where it's at!

Have we mentioned our LOVE of native ecotype plants?? The Ecotype Project works to put the RIGHT plants into the RIGHT places…providing the pollinator plants critical to the survival of local insect species.

 

 Inspiration, we got you covered!

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"Where flowers bloom so does hope." 

– Lady Bird Johnson

 

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