Take Action this Spring to Support Pollinators
April 24, 2025
Land & Water Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Wade Moder
Natural Resources Educator, Dane County Extension
moder.wade@countyofdane.com
608-224-3710
Susan Sandford
Strategic Engagement Coordinator, Dane County Land & Water Resources Department
Sandford.susan@countyofdane.com
(608) 669-1816
Take Action this Spring to Support Pollinators
MADISON, WI – April 11, 2025 – People aren’t the only ones that hunker down for the winter – pollinators do too! Spring is a great time to think about simple actions you can take to help support pollinators. These essential creatures play a vital role in keeping our ecosystems and food systems thriving—but they need our help. Dane County Executive Melissa Agard emphasized the importance of local action:
“Protecting pollinators is protecting our future. Whether you’re planting native flowers, holding off on garden cleanup, or rethinking pesticide use, your actions matter. Together, we can create a healthier, more resilient Dane County—starting in our own backyards.”
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP POLLINATORS?
Let your garden sleep in. If you clean up your garden too soon, you may be destroying the pollinators that have been overwintering. Wait for 7 consecutive days of 50+ degree weather before removing leaves, old stems, or doing other garden cleanup. This is around the time apple fruit trees are done blooming. Leave 12-18" of stem when you cut plants back.
Leave nesting habitat. Most native bees and insects are solitary; they do not nest in hives or colonies. Provide habitat in your yard by leaving dead stems, patches of bare mulch-free soil, logs and dead wood, and leaves.
Plant native plants. Pollinators forage for pollen and nectar on the blooming flowers of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and even trees from April to October. Planting native species that bloom in early spring is incredibly helpful for pollinators, as food sources can be scarce early in spring. To learn more about native gardening, check out our new Native Gardening Learning Hub events.
Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides, including mosquito sprays, in your yard. Purchase plants from nurseries that don’t treat their seeds or plants with Neonicotinoids.
Provide a water source, like a shallow dish with pebbles, for pollinators to drink from.
Assess the quality of the pollinator habitat you have at your home, school, community center, or any other place you love. The Wisconsin Online Pollinator Habitat Assessment can help you evaluate a site and identify actions you can take to support pollinator habitat.
BACKGROUND:
Pollinators are animals that visit flowering plants and transfer pollen from flower to flower, thus aiding plant reproduction. North American pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, flower flies, beetles, hummingbirds, and in some parts of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, nectar-feeding bats. Bees purposefully collect pollen as a protein source for their offspring, making them very efficient pollinators.
Pollinators are essential to our environment as an estimated 87% of flowering plants globally rely on pollinators. They help make our ecosystems viable and provide us with food as 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators (USDA). Odds are, you can thank a pollinator for the last meal you ate.
Unfortunately, pollinator populations have declined due to habitat loss, nutritional deficiency, pests, pathogens, insecticides, and extreme weather events. The good news is that there are several actions you can take to help pollinators!
About Dane County Land & Water Resources Department
The Dane County Land & Water Resources Department works to protect and enhance Dane County’s natural, cultural, and historic resources. It provides the county’s residents with a broad array of accessible, high-quality resource-based recreational services and facilities, and supports residents, communities, local governments and other agencies and organizations in their resource management and protection activities.
About UW-Madison Extension Dane County
We teach, learn, lead and serve, connecting people with the University of Wisconsin, and engaging with them in transforming lives and communities.
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