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Protect Bees

Sweets from the Hive: Honey Fudge Recipe

April 24, 2023/in Family Safety, Food Safety, Food Sourcing

This recipe was originally published by The Whole Kids Foundation. Click here for more information!

 

Looking for a quick, summer dessert courtesy of our precious pollinators? Did you know 1 in 3 bites of food is made possible by pollinators? Here is a fun recipe below to make with your kiddos that only requires three ingredients and a refrigerator! This recipe is gluten free and diary free and yummy for the whole family. Stay tuned to find more recipes here fit for all!

 

Honey Fudge Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Cup Honey

1 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Coconut Oil

Directions: Heat the coconut oil until liquid. Pour all ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix with the hand mixer until blended and smoothed. Grease loaf pan with coconut oil. Pour mixture into pan and place in refrigerator. Wait a few hours to cool and set. Keep refrigerated. The recipe notes you can make this either thin or thick.

 

 

https://protectbees.us/wp-content/uploads/PlaceHolder-Bee.jpg 540 960 KaraM https://protectbees.us/wp-content/uploads/TEMP-Logo-White-Stroke.png KaraM2023-04-24 12:43:542023-05-08 11:04:30Sweets from the Hive: Honey Fudge Recipe
Protect Bees

Planting for Three Seasons: Keep the Million Pollinator Garden Momentum Alive

April 24, 2023/in Family Safety, Pollinator Safety

This original post was published by Mary Phillips at The National Wildlife Federation on May 30, 2019. Click here for more information!

 

It is estimated that there is now at least one or more pollinator gardens per block in most communities across the United States.  This is thanks to the approximately 8 million wildlife gardeners who planted and registered over one million pollinator gardens in the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge across North America 2015-2018!

Rusty Patch Bumblebee Credit: Martha Roberts

People just like you, as part of The National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife movement contributed to over one third of more than the 1 million registered pollinator habitat gardens.  Every Certified Wildlife Habitat®, Schoolyard Habitat, Butterfly Hero, Campus Pollinator Pledge and Mayors Monarch Pledge effort was counted. Thank you!

With such a great response, you may ask why more pollinator gardens are needed. Pollinators are cited in a recent UN biodiversity report that estimates that up to one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction in the coming decades — nearly 40 percent of all species. This requires urgent conservation action as 90 percent of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce many of the fruits and vegetables that both we and wildlife species consume.

The good news is that many people planting the right types of plants makes a really big difference. Recent studies confirm that sites rich with floral and pollinator friendly plants provide pollinator garden hot spots, which support greater bee density and diversity.  Studies on Certified Wildlife Habitats® (properties recognized for providing key elements of food, water, cover, and places for wildlife to raise their young) show a doubling of abundance and diversity of key pollinator species than found on traditionally landscaped properties.

As such, the National Wildlife Federation and fellow co-founders of The National Pollinator Garden Network have announced a 2019 Call to Action to enhance existing gardens with a minimum of three pollinator-friendly plants that bloom in different seasons (spring, summer and fall) to help ensure a consistent food supply for pollinators. New pollinator gardens continue to be necessary to counteract vanishing habitats as well.

Pollinator-friendly plants are… flowering plants, trees and shrubs that offer nutrient-rich nectar and pollen, or serve as host plants for caterpillars. Native plants are important for specialist pollinators, because pollinators co-evolved with native plants. Some non-native and non-invasive flowering plants can support honey bees and other “generalist” pollinators.

Think in Three’s

A simple guide to help you plant powerfully for pollinators is to think in three’s to provide essential elements of pollinator habitat.

Swallowtail on Eastern Red Bud Tree Credit Marina Rivard

Plant a minimum of 3 varieties of blooming nectar plants across 3 seasons: spring, summer, and fall.  For summer, make sure to include Milkweed, as monarch butterflies lay eggs on its leaves, and monarch caterpillars will feed, grow, and gain a natural toxin defense against predators. The summer blooms of milkweed (genus Asclepias) also yield nectar for bees and butterflies.

Balance your landscape with 3 types of native plants. Include flowers, woodies and grasses, to provide forage, cover and places to raise young.  A “Woodie” is a tree or shrub.  An oak tree for example can host over 500 species of butterflies, moths and other insects.

To find the right plants that have co evolved with pollinator species native to where you reside, check out these Eco Region starter lists.  Click on the full map link to find your state and the eco region you reside.   For more detailed lists put in your zip code to the Native Plant Finder.

 

https://protectbees.us/wp-content/uploads/PlaceHolder-Bee.jpg 540 960 KaraM https://protectbees.us/wp-content/uploads/TEMP-Logo-White-Stroke.png KaraM2023-04-24 12:33:042023-05-08 11:04:48Planting for Three Seasons: Keep the Million Pollinator Garden Momentum Alive

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Protect Bees

Our information is provided to us by Cooperative Extension, a network of experts and educators housed at land-grant institutions across the country and US territories.

Visit our blog for a deep dive into current topics involving our food. Click here for more information on how to grow your own food sustainably by protecting pollinators in your yard or garden.

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For general inquiries please contact Kara Maddox of NPSEC (The National Pesticide Safety Education Center).

karamaddox@npsec.us

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