A Guided Walk to Celebrate Pollinator Week

From landscaped pollinator beds surrounding the Bee Mural in the Azalea parking lot to flower-filled hanging baskets and pollinator-friendly trees, shrubs, and grasses along Main Street to adjoining neighborhood pollinator gardens, pollinators are thoughtfully supported throughout downtown Hendersonville.  Join a guided stroll to explore and learn about urban pollinator gardening, created as part of Hendersonville’s Bee City USA program.  The event is scheduled for Saturday, June 15, at 9 a.m.  Meet Mark Stierwalt, Hendersonville’s Public Works Superintendent, in front of Black Bear Coffee Co., 318 N. Main Street, for the 90-minute walk to celebrate Pollinator Week.

Open to the public at no charge, the walk is sponsored by Hendersonville Tree Board.  The event will be cancelled in case of inclement weather, which will be announced on the City’s website at www.hendersonvillenc.gov. 

“We’re excited to offer this pleasant walk to downtown visitors and residents” Stierwalt said.  “Pollinator-friendly plantings are being expanded throughout the City, and the guided walk shows some of that.”

For example, a new pollinator bed was planted in April along U.S. 64 East/Four Seasons Blvd. adjacent to Starbucks, near the intersection at Jack Street.  This is in addition to the large pollinator bed installed last year on Four Seasons Blvd. at Duncan Hill Rd.  A pollinator meadow and other beds have been refurbished and replanted this spring along Oklawaha Greenway as well.

National Pollinator Week – June 17-23 -- is a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture. These essential creatures, including bees, butterflies, moths, bats, beetles, and hummingbirds, are the unsung heroes behind the food we enjoy and the beauty that surrounds us.

Hendersonville Tree Board, sponsor of this educational stroll, is commissioned by the City of Hendersonville to provide advice on the selection and care of trees and shrubs.  The Tree Board also educates the public concerning the economic and aesthetic benefits of trees and shrubs for the community.  The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Hendersonville as a Tree City USA for more than 30 years and the city has earned a Growth Award each year because of its high level of tree care.  The city became a Bee City USA in 2015.     

To learn more about Hendersonville Tree Board and its projects, visit the webpage at http://www.hendersonvillenc.gov/tree-board.