“Throw and Grow” Workshop Gives Bees New Blooms to Pollinate

"Without the honeybee, there will be no us," said Armond Wilbourn, owner of Noble Honey, a minority-owned beekeeping and farming company in metro Atlanta. Members of Southern Company Gas’ environmentally focused employee resource group EverGreen-GA celebrated Earth Day by hosting Wilbourn for a talk about the importance of honeybees and by getting their hands dirty, creating pollinator garden flower pods to promote sustainability and support pollinators like honeybees, which are critical to our food supply.

Participants mixed milkweed and other native wildflower seed, locally sourced clay, garden soil and water to create clay pollinators pods, which they plan to toss into their gardens to encourage the growth of wildflowers and other plants that attract bees. 

This is not the first time EverGreen members have created pollinator gardens. They started and continue to maintain several onsite at Southern Company Gas facilities in Georgia, Illinois and Virginia. These activities underscore the importance of honeybees to agriculture and the broader ecosystem. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, honeybees pollinate over 100 types of crops in the United States, accounting for about a third of the food we eat.

Bees play a vital role in supporting the grasses that feed cattle, impacting the production of beef, milk and cheese. "Without honeybees, we wouldn’t have strawberries, blueberries or watermelon," Wilbourn said.

Georgia EverGreen Education Program Lead Nate Williams led the hands-on experience of creating flower pods and explained the importance of planting native species to attract bees. "Just throw them [the clay pollinators pods] in an area you would want wildflowers to grow, and let nature do its work," Williams said.

The event's focus on pollinator gardens was not solely about helping bees, but also about understanding the connection between pollination and food production.

Wilbourn explained that pollinator gardens are crucial for maintaining biodiversity and supporting the ecosystem. They demonstrate how honeybees contribute to our daily lives by facilitating the process from the field to the hive and eventually to the honey jar.

If you want to create your own pollinator garden at home, here is a simple guide for those interested in getting started:

Pollinator Garden Recipe

1. Combine 1 part clay, 1 part soil (compost) and small amounts of water to create a “Play-Doh” like consistency.
2. Roll mixture into firm balls around 1” diameter.
3. Use about 5-10 native wildflower seeds per ball and press seeds on the outside of ball.
4. Let them dry completely!
5. Throw the clay balls into your garden or designated area.
6. Allow them to grow into wildflowers that attract pollinators.

Creating pollinator gardens is a small but impactful way to support the environment.