Published: Jun 19, 2016 | 12:25 PM

Pollinators Garden Debuts at Marsh

When the butterfly garden was established at the Irvine Ranch District’s San Joaquin Marsh in 2005, the goal was to attract butterflies native to this area.

Now, you have another reason to visit the Marsh - the new pollinators garden. This was a work in progress since last fall. Sea and Sage Audubon led the effort with help from volunteers, including summer camp participants. The 6,600-square-foot garden is located in the meadow area of the Marsh, behind the Duck Club and adjacent the butterfly garden.

A dedication and ribbon-cutting for the garden was held on June 11.

A volunteer installed a sturdy rabbit-proof fence. Eagle Scout candidate Matthew Charles is creating nesting structures for native bees. IRWD installed the drip irrigation with lines to each plant and provided mulch to protect the plants and keep weeds at bay.

This colorful garden features around 22 different Southern California species, most of them local to Orange County. Some of them are California fuchsia, Cleveland Sage, sticky Monkeyflower, blue elderberry, white sage and California goldenrod, to name a few. Many of these plants will attract hummingbirds, but the real purpose of the garden is to draw bees, which are responsible for pollinating about one-third of the food consumed by humans.

Bee populations have been declining in recent years. Without bees, we would lose one out of every three bites of food we consume. Bees are very important to humans and plants. California has 1,000 native bee species, including bumble bees, carpenter bees, digger bees, mason bees and more. These native bees are solitary and build nesting places in the ground and in wood. They are rarely aggressive or sting.

Bring the family and visit the Marsh anytime, dawn to dusk, 365 days per year. Marsh information is located on our website.