Skidaway Audubon News: Bee a Volunteer – Nature Needs You!

About 16 years ago, Sparrow Field was an overgrown, abandoned sod farm off of Bartram Road. Today, it is a haven for gardeners, photographers, and other nature lovers. And thanks to a new Landings couple, the field now includes two honeybee hives.

John and Elena Boshier (shown at right) came to The Landings with 12 years of beekeeping experience. They established and maintain two honeybee colonies in a fenced area at Sparrow Field, and recently invited residents to a well-received presentation about bees. With a 150-yard pollinator garden berm bordering the field, the honeybees should be happy in their new home, except for one problem -- there are not enough volunteers to maintain the garden.

“Countless volunteers made Sparrow Field what it is today. They transformed dirt and weeds into a horticultural showcase and a much-needed habitat for monarch butterflies and other treasured pollinators,” said Skidaway Audubon President Dawn Cordo.  “We are blessed with financial support for needed supplies, but right now we are in desperate need of volunteers.”

The garden is home to more than 100 species of flowering plants – and there are not enough volunteers to tend to them all. With bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in decline nationwide due to habitat loss and pesticides, it is essential to maintain these plants, especially the native milkweeds, which monarch butterflies need for breeding.

The tasks are simple: weeding, dead-heading flowers, and in general, nurturing nature. A green thumb is not required! All that is needed is a willingness to help. The benefits are many. Volunteers contribute to a nationwide effort to save monarchs, provide a service to the community, and create beauty, while reducing their stress levels and improving their mental outlook. Being outside, being nurturing, working with nature, getting a little exercise, having a purpose, contributing to a collective effort, working with your hands, all can help create a better mindset. The volunteers also learn what plants do well here and have the opportunity to meet new people.

Bees, butterflies ,and other pollinators are a gardener’s best friend, and the backbone of the food industry. Insects pollinate important crops including apples, peaches, cranberries, melons, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, almonds, lettuce, beans, squash, onions, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, cotton, and much more.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators.

The Sparrow Field is located at 99 Bartram Road near the north end of Pettigrew Drive, and was established through the hard work of Skidaway Audubon with help from The Landings Garden Club, interested residents, and golf club employees. Thanks to volunteers and generous donors, in addition to the gardens and bee hives, Sparrow Field also includes a lily pond, a gazebo, and a tall kiosk with educational information about bees, birds, plants, and other natural aspects of Skidaway.

If you are interested in helping the honeybees and other pollinators by lending a hand in the preservation of this vital habitat, click here and select Sparrow Field.

“You will be welcomed with open arms! We have so many visitors who come admire the garden, but a dwindling number of helpers. Without more volunteers, the project will be unsustainable,” said Cordo, who also serves as project leader at the garden. “And a note to parents – we welcome responsible high school students who may be interested in opportunities to earn required service hours.”

Skidaway Audubon is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, dedicated to preserving and enhancing this prized island environment and is funded by donations. To donate, click here.