The Quiet Visitors of an Urban Farm
Why pollinators are essential to a farm ecosystem
This little fella is quite a poser. As my camera got closer, it took the cue to strike a model pose. This little dragonfly visits the farm daily with a few of his friends. Often smiling and teasing for photoshoots — such a cheeky exhibitionist.
He is seldom alone. Together with his tribe of pollinators — birds, bees, ladybugs, butterflies, wasps & moths they get VIP entrance to our community farm.
Inside the farm, the lounges and beds are set up for his friends; pollinators to soak up the sun and feast on the buffet spread of flowers and buds. Fortunately, these little VIPs are easily satisfied as long as nectar and pollen are replenished and plentiful for their pleasure. These little pollinators would flirt with no shame from bud to bud, whispering sweet nothings of pollen along with every stop.
But for our VIP dragonflies, the pond and the partially submerged plants are their favorite lounge. They love sunbathing on the top of these long stems and hide their larva in them. They do not care much for pollinating but instead look out for blood-sucking mosquitoes, flies, ants, termites, or anything smaller than them. A VIP in its class of its own.
(The above is a snippet of ‘A day in Life’ at an urban farm; Kebun Kebun Bangsar, Malaysia)
What are pollinators?
They are mostly tiny animals or insects that can fly — Birds, bats, bees, ladybugs, butterflies, wasps, flies & moths.
Some studies have indicated there are at least 1,500 vertebrates and mammals that are pollinators too.
What is Pollination?
The process where pollinators transfer pollen from male flower to female flower. When this happens, we gain seeds, fruits, and another inception of flowers or plants. While 90% of pollination depends on animals, the remaining 10% are wind and water.
Why are they essential to farms?
One out of every three bites of what we eat depends on a pollinator. Pollination is necessary for over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops.
It is scary to imagine life without pollinators. It is not just a simple situation of not seeing butterflies or bees in your garden but not enjoying fruits or vegetables that we have been eating for years.
Just for a simple context, according to an article by Forbes — Between $235 and $577 billion (U.S.) worth of annual global food production relies on pollinators!
Indirectly, they contribute to the farm’s ecosystem by reducing the need for synthetic elements such as pesticides and helping farmers work on being more organic.
How can you help pollinators?
Not surprisingly, with urbanization and climate change, the habitats of pollinators are being threatened. These include excessive use of pesticides and disease spread.
But there are things you can do to help ensure pollinators continue their service.
- Plant pollinator garden-flowers: Plant in boxes, gardens, farms, clusters. Plant continuously if possible — plant different mix of flowers, including local trees/flowers. Locate a site for resting/nesting — birds like small pools of water.
- Use pesticides only when necessary or for the intended pest.
- Support local honey producers. Build bee boxes.
There are plenty of successful urban farms which can provide meadow-like pollinator garden without too much of effort.
If the ecosystem and biodiversity are in balance, it will require very little human intervention to keep the garden/farm going without injecting synthetic materials/pesticides.
“One out of every three bites you eat, you should thank a bee, butterfly, bat, bird or other pollinators.”
— (Our Forgotten Pollinators: Protecting the Birds and Bees By Mrill Ingram, Gary Nabhan and Stephen Buchmann)
Thank you for reading.
