Thursday, May 19, 2016

Pollinators!

    Pollinators are dying off and declining in great numbers. Some of the reasons are because of pesticide use, habitat loss, and construction. Pollinators are very important and they travel from plant to plant to pollinate. Losing pollinators is a horrible thing because without them we would have to self pollinate, but there are still ways to help the pollinators though. Team Carrabassett is trying to help and bring awareness to others. So this is everything in one.
    The main causes of pollinators declining is pesticides, habitat loss, and construction. Pesticides are being used everywhere to kill of the bugs that kill crops, but they are also killing the good pollinators. Pesticides can be lethal or sublethal. “3 to 6 amounts of pesticides are found in the pollen that bees collect”-Mariah Spivak (YouTube). The lethal kills and the sub lethal causes the bees not to be able to do their job, by making it harder to move or cause CCD. Habitat loss is when pollinators’ habitats are gone or destroyed. So the have nowhere to live so they die. Another cause is construction, because where the pollinators live are sometimes being destroyed for construction.
    Pollinators are very important because they provide us with a lot of our food supply. They do this by spreading pollen, by traveling from one plant to another plant. “Pollinators carry pollen from plant to plant to keep the life of plants and flowers reproducing”-Wings of Life, Disney Nature (movie). The pollinators collect reproductive cell of one plant and bring it to another which work together to make a seed or a fruit or vegetable. Which is how flowers reproduce and create a seed which may turn into plants that can grow fruits or vegetables. Because the pollinators pollinate they create food and flowers which help the Earth both supply food, but give beauty to the world.
     One consequence of losing pollinators is that the food supply will decrease greatly. So while the pollinators are decreasing, so is our food supply. Without pollinators we would have to self pollinate. For example, “China now has to self pollinate because they killed all of their pollinators”-(YouTube). Self pollination is very difficult, we would either have to go to every plant and vibrate the pollen loose, or get paintbrushes and take the pollen grain from each plant, and bring the pollen to another plant. Also without them flowers wouldn't reproduce so there would be no flowers in the world.
     To address the pollinator issue, people could stop using pesticides or just plant a garden for the pollinators to get nutrients from. A garden would help because plants and pollinators have a beneficial relationship. Pollinators getting the food they need from the plants and the pollinators helping the plants reproduce. “The government gave seeds to farmers so the farmers could plant them for the pollinators”-National Geographic. In 2010 New York City had allowed beekeeper to have bees. Research has been conducted and has proven that pesticides do affect the way the pollinators pollinate.
     Here at MMS (Massabesic Middle School), we are bringing awareness to the community, and starting a garden. We have tested the soil so it's perfect for the flowers, we are growing caterpillars (Painted Lady Butterflies), and ordered many seeds for the garden. The caterpillars will be growing into butterflies and will help pollinate the flowers in the garden. The garden will also attract other pollinators to get the nutrients from the flowers and pollinate more flowers. We are bringing awareness by sending letters to some places that are making and using pesticides or using bad GMOs. We are also bringing awareness by writing this.
    Now you know that pollinators are dying and why. Also, why they are important and the consequences of losing pollinators, what is being done to help, and how others can help, too.


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