Marshall MO Pollinator Garden

About the Program
Bayer Corp has established two pollinator gardens as part of its corporate initiative to establish pollinator habitats at all of their locations and provide community education. These projects are located at its Marshall, Missouri, facility. The goal of the projects is to create butterfly gardens; provide host plants for monarch larva and food and water for other pollinators; and serve as an educational tool for the community and local schools.
 
Practices and Impacts

• The original garden is 0.04 acres and was established in 2015. Plants were selected to provide food for pollinators throughout the growing season. The success of the first garden on the property led to planning and installing another smaller garden in front of the building. The second garden is somewhat smaller, and due to its location at the front entrance, has the added goals of aesthetics and demonstrating pollinator habitat to company visitors.
• Employees observe and report pollinators including monarch caterpillars and butterflies and bees.
• Employees participate in installation and maintenance such as planting, weeding, watering and weekly cleanup.
• Participant hours, pollinator observations, maintenance needs, bloom time, plant survival, etc., are all recorded. These records are used to inform adaptive management and decisions that improve the habitat success.
• Future plans may include introducing monarch caterpillars and adding spring and fall blooming plants for a longer pollinator season.