National Pollinator Week will take place June 17th-23rd, which highlights the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations.

Pollinator Week was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership and was designated for a week in June by a unanimous approval from the U.S. Senate sixteen years ago. Marion County Naturalist Marla Mertz says that they have seen a severe decrease in the number of pollinators across the United States, and adds that Pollinator Week addresses the important roles they play in everyday life.

“So, there has been a lot of interest in regaining areas, whether it be plantings or just awareness and teachings about our pollinators, that we desperately need. Most of the pollinators bring about a third of our food sources to us. So, we really can’t live without those insects and we can’t live without water. So those are two very important things that kind of begin life for everything else, including us.”

Hear more about National Pollinator Week from Marla Mertz on today’s In Touch with South Central Iowa.