2024
Pollinator Week, June 17-23, 2024
Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health and resilience! It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them.
As a Bee City USA affiliate, the City of Mountain Brook is celebrating Pollinator Week in the following ways:
1. Free mosquito dunk giveaway in the permit mall at city hall. The most effective and pollinator friendly mosquito treatment is to control mosquitoes at the larvae stage. A safe and effective alternative method of mosquito control is the use of Mosquito Dunks, a small donut-shaped ring that you float in a homemade mosquito trap (a bucket with water and straw). The dunk contains a bacterium that specifically target mosquito larvae. The mosquito dunk ring is effective for 30 days!... and for less than $1 per dunk. Limit one 2-pack of dunks per person (while supplies last!) By picking up your free mosquito dunk you’re committing to sharing about it on your favorite social media and adding the hashtags #MBeeAL, #BeeCityUSA, and #PollinatorWeek.
2. MBee is partnering with the O’Neal Library. Celebrate Pollinator Week with your little ones at O’Neal Public Library! On display this week are fun books about bugs, bees, butterflies, and the native plants that help them. There’s also a special scavenger hunt sheet complete with a mini-magnifying glass for identifying beneficial insects! Head on over to the City Hall pollinator garden and bee hotel afterward! For adults there are many books on display about how butterflies, moths, and bees help our native ecosystem, and about how to create gardens to attract and sustain them! Did you know that Mountain Brook is a Bee City USA affiliate? Help spread the word! #MBeeAL, #OnealLibrary, and #BeeCityUSA.
3. A Native Plant Presentation is being given by the City’s Director of Planning/Sustainability, Dana Hazen. Come learn about the distinction between native plants, non-native plants, invasive plants, and keystone plants…and why it matters! The presentation is at the Birmingham Public Library, Arrington Auditorium on Saturday, June 22, 2024, 11:00-noon, and is open to the public. #MBeeAL, #BeeCityUSA, #RecreativeNatives, and #HomegrownNationalPark
4. A Free Little Lending Library has been installed at the City Hall Pollinator Garden along Tibbett Street. Stop by to borrow one of many clever and informative books on native plants, native pollinators, and native insects of the southeast! Books are for adults and for children, many of which you may find in our on-line selection of Books Everyone's Buzzing About for native habitats! Help us advocate for native habitats! #MBeeAL, #BeeCityUSA, #MayorsMonarchPledge, and #HomegrownNationalPark.
5. Memory Triangle Conversion to a Native Habitat Meadow! You may have noticed that in the spring of 2024 Memory Triangle was "uprooted" as a result of the county sewer project. The City recognized this literal uprooting of the previous grassy lawn as blank-slate-opportunity to make a meaningful investment in the ecological diversity of Mountain Brook! Look for change beginning this summer as the Triangle is populated with a native seed mix that will stabilize the soil, prevent run-off, and provide native vegetation that will support a wide variety of pollinators and birds (see pdf list of Ecological Benefits of each native plant species below) . This change in vegetation for the triangle will have a more relaxed (less formal) look to it than what has traditionally grown in this location. Watch us grow and spread the good news! #MBeeAL, #BeeCityUSA, #MayorsMonarchPledge, and #HomegrownNationalPark.
