Birds, bees and planting seeds to help the planet
Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos
This is a story about the birds and the bees.
Parents, don’t panic. This is still a family-friendly magazine, safe for children. In fact, this story is about an Alabama Power initiative that makes the planet better for our kids and grandkids and brings colorful, fragrant beauty to Logan Martin and other Alabama lakes.
In 2018, the utility began its pollinator plot program at nine sites around Alabama. Two pollinator-friendly plots are located in Double Cove Park at Logan Martin near the dam. The program is part of The Preserves, 65 public recreational sites along the state’s shorelines.
Each half-acre plot was built in the wake of a decline in pollinator populations, notably bees. But a variety of wildlife, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, lizards and bats are pollinators that plants depend on to survive and thrive.
That spread of pollen doesn’t just help flowers to blossom, it impacts the food supply. Each plot is seeded with a custom blend of native seeds specific to each site – a recipe of annuals, biannuals and perennials. Each plot commonly includes milkweed species, black-eyed Susans and goldenrod. The seed mix is created following a soil analysis at Auburn University.
The company partnered with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service in developing the pollinator sites.
“Our goal was to establish pollinator friendly sites at each Alabama Power public recreation site capable of development,” said Garret Parker, Alabama Power team leader on Shoreline Recreation and Compliance.
Goals for the program include:
- Enhancing existing recreation sites.
- Protecting the scenic, recreational and environmental aspects of each site.
- Encouraging stakeholders to enjoy, learn and grow a deeper appreciation of Alabama’s ecology and natural landscape.
The plots have to be redone every five years, Parker said. It generally takes about three months to re-do the plots.
“The wildflowers come back every year, but over time you get a lot of invasive weeds and grasses and sometimes even trees,” Parker said. “They slowly start to get into the plots and out-compete the native wildflowers.”
In late fall, employees plant a wildflower seed mixture that by next spring and summer will be a cornucopia of beauty, color and fragrance – bergamot, black-eyed Susans, blue false indigo, butterfly milkweed, purple cornflower and others.
Fighting off the threats
In the past quarter century, pollinator populations and their habitats have drastically declined, thanks to a number of factors, including pesticides, pollution, pests, pathogens and changes in land use, such as increasing human development, according to the Pollinator Partnership. It is an organization that collaborates with farmers, gardeners, land managers, scientists and industry to improve pollinator populations.
Climate change also plays a key role, according to the partnership. The increased temperatures have damaged habitat and the food supply for pollinators, as has extreme drought and an increase in the number of weather-related disasters.
Here are a few examples of how pollinator populations have declined:
- Several species of native bumblebees, including the common bumblebee, the western bumblebee and the Rusty Patched bumblebee, have experienced a decline in population. Researchers have seen a decline in the geographic range of the species.
- The number of managed beehives in the United States has declined from 5 million in the 1940s to 2.68 million in 2023, according to USDA statistics.
- The monarch butterfly population loss has increased from between 35 to 49 percent to 58 percent.
Along with the pollinator plots, the utility has worked with universities like Auburn, researchers, state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to grow the pollinator population, Parker said.
“Alabama Power coordinated with the Auburn University Bee Lab and the Electric Power Research Institute to conduct a multi-year research study on ways to protect pollinator friendly plant species when conducting required vegetation management on utility rights of way,” Parker said. We also work with state and federal partners and NGOs to protect specific species such as the white fringeless orchid.”
Among the NGOs partnering with Alabama Power is the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The company also supports the Alabama Wildlife Federation and Alabama Audubon Society and their efforts to establish wildlife and pollinator friendly vegetation.
An example of the partnerships is between the power company and Auburn University’s Bee Laboratory. The university uses “citizen science” by encouraging public participation in the National Colony Loss & Management Survey. It’s a “boots on the ground” effort to monitor bee population.
The utility is among a number of partners with Auburn, including the University of Maryland and the USDA.
This past summer, the utility worked with the Pollinator Partnership to sponsor its annual Pollinator Week, a celebration of the birds and bees, butterflies and other animals that go crazy over Alabama wildflowers. Humans like the picturesque plots too.
Why is the program important? “By prioritizing environmental stewardship,” Parker said, “we’re safeguarding resources and opportunities for future generations.”
Editor’s Note: Community members can find a pollinator plot to host a counting event near them by downloading the free Shorelines mobile app or visiting apcshorelines.com.
