Hunger, Pollinators, & Community Gardens

Thanks to the St Paul Area Synod (ELCA) for sharing this Great Idea for any Minnesota congregation!

Vernita Kennen of Incarnation Lutheran Church, Shoreview, MN reflects on National Pollinator Protection Week (which was June 21-27 in 2021) and how her community of Roseville passed a Pollinator Friendly Community resolution back in 2017. That resolution informed actions from the city and individual residents in the ensuing years, including the installation of bee next boxes in city parks.

Ms. Kennen goes on to connect the health and well-being of pollinator populations with healthy food and the well-being of human populations.

How might your congregation’s grounds – and your whole community – become a more pollinator friendly place? There are numerous ways to learn about bees and other pollinators and the resources necessary to provide them with safe habitat, including from the USDA Forest Service, or David Suzuki Foundation’s How to Create a Pollinator-friendly Garden is full of great ideas.

Might your congregation be the driving engine behind a Pollinator Friendly Community resolution like Roseville’s?

Consider the biblical implications both of nature and of people struggling with hunger by discussing Bible verses such as the promise of God delivering the Israelites to a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8 ff). What does this really mean – considering the connection between healthy pollinator communities and healthy human communities?

Make the connection between pollinator habitat and feeding hungry people explicit by creating a community garden! United Methodist Communications reminds us that we can Draw More than Bees with a Community Garden – read it for great ideas and tips.

This is a great community-wide, intergenerational learning and activity-based opportunity!

Read the full article on Pollinator Protection & Hunger article here.