Research – Even a Small Native Garden Can Have Impact

A recently published study showed that even a small native garden can have a beneficial impact on bees and other pollinator species.

“They found an interesting trend: typically overlooked smaller plots of wildflowers, less than 500m², produced a 1.4-fold increase in pollinator abundance over control plots. Based on these findings, they designed a field study using small patches for community farms in Washington State to test this idea. Planting these 11 small patches, only 30m² big, with floral strips and nests for pollinators they saw an overall increase in the number of recorded bees—rising from 1,360 in 2014 to 3,550 in 2018.”

So start with a small commitment to add a small patch of native plants to your yard!