ATC offers pollinator education/youth STEM activities to over 500 libraries in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
PEWAUKEE – American Transmission Co. wants K-12 students to Grow Smart this summer. The company — in partnership with national gardening expert and author Melinda Myers, the Wisconsin Public Library System and the Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation — is offering free pollinator education and STEM activities for K-12 youth and their families, along with live gardening webinars for adults during June 2022, which is National Pollinator Month.
The programming was made available to over 480 Wisconsin libraries and over 40 libraries in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. June is National Pollinator Month. The libraries can support the Grow Smart program with their own ideas, book lists and other activities.
Grow Smart for pollinators
Nearly all of the world’s seed plants need pollinators — animals that cause a plant to make fruits or seeds by moving pollen from one part of a plant to another part to fertilize it. Visits from bees, beetles, birds, butterflies and other pollinators result in larger, more flavorful fruits and higher crop yields.
But pollinator populations are decreasing, mainly due to loss of habitat. Grow Smart and add native, pollinator-friendly plants to your yard to aid in their survival. Adding native plants doesn’t require a lot of space or even a lot of effort. Join us at your local library during June to learn more.
Youth videos and activities
ATC and Melinda Myers created three videos and accompanying STEM-based activities for K-12 students that are available through local libraries or at www.atc-GrowSmart.com/library.
- Making and caring for a bee home
- Native sunflower project
- Growing a pollinator garden in a container
Also available on the website are additional youth gardening videos and a young gardener’s journal.
Live webinars for adults
Adults can register for three live webinars hosted by Melinda Myers who want to learn more about how to incorporate pollinators into their gardens and landscaping.
- June 1, 2022, 6:30 p.m. – Creating a pollinator paradise
- June 15, 2022, 7:00 p.m. – Supporting native bees
- June 22, 2022, 6:30 p.m. – Maintaining your landscape with pollinators in mind
Library patrons can register for the webinars at www.atc-GrowSmart.com/library. The webinars will be recorded and available on ATC’s YouTube channel for viewing shortly after the live webinars. View or download the Grow Smart Pollinator Guide for suggestions on a variety of native, pollinator-friendly plants.
ATC’s pollinator habitat support
ATC is uniquely positioned to help establish pollinator habitat because of the over 10,000 miles of transmission line right-of-way we manage. Roughly 40% of the rights-of-way we manage may currently serve as suitable habitat for pollinators and our practices help make these areas suitable for pollinators.
The four-acre native prairie surrounding ATC’s Pewaukee, Wis., headquarters is certified as a native landscape by the Wildlife Habitat Council and we have helped over 30 entities that allow public access to our rights-of-way develop roughly 275 acres of pollinator habitat through our Pollinator Habitat grant program since 2017.