SFNC’s First Annual Pollinator Event was held on Saturday, June 17th. 50+ participants from all age groups were present on that overcast morning to explore the pollinators in our life.

Activities of the day included Puddle Stone Painting, Seed ball creations, face painting and monarch wing dress-up! Participants of all ages were invited to participate. The pollinator hike toured some of our monarch habitat restoration sites in which SFNC planted over 500 native milkweed plants two years ago. Our first blooms of milkweed were viewed at this event!

We had four guest presenters who donated their time and knowledge, and even their native plants, to make the morning an incredible experience! The event was co-chaired by board members Leslie Goff and Janet Miron. Our four presenters were assisted by docents Shirley Pratt, Roberta Katz-Messenger and teen volunteers Julia Goff, Quentin Goff, Laura Miron and Grant Goff. We were especially pleased that many Master Naturalist from the local chapter came out to support our program and share with us their expertise.

Meet our Guides:

[ms_person name=”Ruth André” style=”beside” title=”Pope County, native plant-butterfly enthusiast” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ picture=”https://gatesrogers.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/9a188-ruth-andre-shares-her-knowledge-about-native-plants-and-monarchs-jm-240×320-1.jpg” picborder=”0″ picbordercolor=”” picborderradius=”0″ iconboxedradius=”4″ iconcolor=”” class=”” id=””]Ruth (right) shared her love for native plants with participants. Her expertise in growing native plants from seed were very evident and her generosity in donating free plants to participants was greatly appreciated. Many went home with a great start to native pollinator gardens! Click here to see the list of Native plants Ruth gave away. [/ms_person]

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[ms_accordion_item title=”See Ruth’s Wildflower Basket!” color=”#ffffff” background_color=”purple” close_icon=”fa-leaf” open_icon=”fa-leaf” status=”close”]Wildflowers – Height – Sun – Soil
Boneset – Eupatorium perfoliatum – 4 feet – full/part – moist
Showy Goldenrod – Solidago speciosa – 5 feet – full/part – med./dry
Old Field Goldenrod – Solidago nemoralis – 2 feet – full/part – dry/mesic
Blue-stemmed Goldenrod – Solidago caesia – 3 feet – part shade/shade – mesic/dry mesic
Zig Zag Goldenrod – Solidago flexicaulis – 3 feet – part shade/shade – dry/mesic
False Indigo – Amorpha fruticosa – to 12 feet – full/part – medium
Ozark Bluestar – Amsonia illustris – 3 feet – full/part shade – mesic/dry mesic
Cup Plant – Silphium perfoliatum – 8 feet – full sun/part shade – medium
Button Blazing Star – Liatris aspera – 3 feet – full sun/part shade – mesic/dry
Compass Plant – Silphium laciniatum – 8 feet – full sun/part shade – wet mesic to dry
Wild Quinine – Parthenium integrifolium – 4 feet – full sun – medium
Rosin Weed – Silphium integrifolium – 5 feet – full sun – wet mesic to dry
Stiff Goldenrod – Solidago rigida – 4 feet – full sun/part shade – medium/dry
Lead Plant- Amorpha canescens – 3 feet – full sun/part shade – medium/dry
Buttonbush – Cephalanthus occidentalis – 8 feet – full sun/part shade- wet/wet mesic
Elm-leaved Goldenrod – Solidago ulmifolia – 3 feet – part shade/shade – mesic/dry mesic
Yellow Crownbeard – Verbesina helianthoides – 4 feet – full sun/part shade – mesic
Pale Purple Coneflower – Echinacea pallida – 3 feet – full sun/part shade – mesic to dry
New Jersey Tea – Ceanothus americanus – 3 feet full sun/part shade – mesic to dry

Tall Coreopsis – Coreopsis triptera – 7 feet – full sun/part shade – wet mesic to dry mesic
Panicled Aster – Aster lanceolatus – 5 feet – full sun – medium
Tall Goldenrod[/ms_accordion_item]
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[ms_person name=”Marty Lynch” style=”beside” title=”Garland County, Milkweed enthusiast and propagator” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ picture=”https://gatesrogers.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/32e93-marty-lynch-shares-with-a-visitor-her-enthusiasm-for-monarch-butterflies-240×320-1.jpg” piclink=”” picborder=”0″ picbordercolor=”” picborderradius=”0″ iconboxedradius=”4″ iconcolor=”” class=”” id=””]Marty (left) is a Garland County Master Gardener who jumped at the chance to come and share her knowledge of growing milkweed from seed. She is also a monarch enthusiast and hates to miss a chance to share her knowledge. She collected several informative handouts from various agencies around the state and generously shared them with participants. She also left a great supply to be used at future SFNC activities.[/ms_person]

[ms_person name=”Don Greenland” style=”beside” title=”Faulkner County, Ozark Foothill Bee Keeper Association” link_target=”_blank” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ picture=”https://gatesrogers.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/a65b5-don-greenland-bee-keeper-shares-his-knowledge-lg-240×320-1.jpg” piclink=”” picborder=”0″ picbordercolor=”” picborderradius=”0″ iconboxedradius=”4″ iconcolor=”” class=”” id=””]

Don is a Faulkner County Master Gardener and he is also the treasurer of the Ozark Foothill Bee Keeper Association. Don has been very active in educating the public of the importance of bees as pollinators. He brought his display hive and explained all about starting a hive. He shared his sources for purchasing bees and encouraged participants to give it a try. Those interested in bee keeping can contact the Ozark Foothill Bee Keeper Association for more information.[/ms_person]

[ms_person name=”Jim Solomon” style=”beside” title=”Van Buren County, Retired Entomologist and Docent” link_target=”_blank” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ picture=”https://gatesrogers.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/cab31-jim-solomon-leads-a-pollinator-trail-hike.jpg?w=1024&h=682″ piclink=”” picborder=”0″ picbordercolor=”” picborderradius=”0″ iconboxedradius=”4″ iconcolor=”” class=”” id=””]Jim, shown here with a humming bird nest, led our pollinator hike. Jim is always willing to take a spin around the trails and see what he can find. He is very active in our docent program and enjoys introducing hikers to the great big world of insects. His many years as a research entomologist with the Forestry Service has equipped him with great stories of insects and their native habitats.[/ms_person]