As a part of Van Wert County for 71 years, the Soil & Water Conservation District wants to remind you that each of us has a connection to our natural resources. In partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), the Van Wert SWCD is celebrating the 65th year of Stewardship Week April 26 – May 3, 2020, focusing on the theme “Where Would We BEE Without Pollinators?” 

Pollinators form the underpinning of a healthy and sustainable future for food and the environment, but they have shown disturbing signs of decline in recent years. When pollinators shrink in number, many plants either produce less seed or no seed at all. Most plants depend upon pollinators to reproduce. There are more than 100,000 species of insects, including bees, flies, moths, butterflies and beetles, and over 1,000 species of other animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals, including bats, that pollinate plants. Your local conservation district can assist you in maintaining or developing habitat for pollinators. 

“Pollinators play a critical role in our ecosystems every day,” NACD President Tim Palmer said. “It’s important that we work to learn how we can protect their habitat in our communities.” 

Free, downloadable Stewardship Week resources celebrating the theme “Where Would We BEE Without Pollinators?” are available on NACD’s website at /www.nacdnet.org/store/

The Van Wert SWCD is a member of NACD, which oversees the annual Stewardship Week program. Stewardship Week is one of the largest national annual programs to promote conservation. NACD represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, which were established to encourage resource conservation across the country.