Pollinators
Insectaries for Pollinators and Farm Biodiversity:
An Innovative Pilot Project
This project was a pilot effort to enhance pollinator habitat on seven working farms, including a vineyard, three organic vegetable crop farms, a cattle ranch, an orchard, and one diverse farm with grapes, vegetable crops, and livestock.
 Digger bee, photo credit: Steve Johnson |
The partners worked in close collaboration with EQIP-eligible landowners to develop and implement Farm Pollinator Plans specific to each property with a particular focus on enhancing native bee habitat, while working to improve yields and farm profits. The plans included a variety of measures such as the creation of hedgerows, field borders, nesting structures, appropriate flowering cover crop mixes, contour buffer strips and drift barriers, critical area planting, filter strips, and riparian and farm pond revegetation.
Plantings were specifically designed to provide nesting habitat and year-round pollen and nectar sources for both native bee species and honeybees, while also supporting other pollinator species such as hummingbirds and bats. Native bees have diverse habitat needs, as many are ground nesters, cavity nesters, or stem borers. This necessitated that plans use species beyond simply flowering plants, including rushes, sedges, or woody species known to house cavity nesters. Plantings also had to take into account flower shapes, colors, and bloom times. A list of plant species used in the project can be found in the link below.
Orchard bee, photo credit: Steve Johnson
Several of the plantings were conducted in areas where irrigation was not feasible, including a rangeland property and a non-irrigated vineyard. The rangeland site used DriWater®, packets of a gel which is digested by soil microbes to release water as soil dries. The packets need to be replaced every six weeks during the dry season. The non-irrigated vineyard site used Groasis Waterboxxes®, plastic tubs which trap water through condensation while providing weed control and browse protection.
Project staff monitored plantings using Citizen Science Monitoring techniques developed by the Xerces Society, in order to determine native bee abundance and diversity within the plantings. Sites were also monitored for plant survival.
Leaf-cutter bee, photo credit: Steve Johnson
The Gold Ridge RCD is currently seeking additional funding to continue the pollinator program, and is soliciting EQIP-eligible landowners for participation in the next round of plantings. For more information please contact:
Noelle Johnson
Noelle@GoldRidgeRCD.org
(707)823-5244
Over 1,200 plants create wildlife corridors
at Rued Vineyards along Graton Road.
Over 1,700 plants were installed on Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol to enhance native pollinator habitat, wildlife corridors, and on-farm biodiversity.
More information
Gold Ridge RCD Pollinator Plant List
Hedgerows for California Agriculture
A Resource Guide
- Community Alliance with Family Farmers
California Plants for Native Bees
Invertabrate Conservation Fact Sheet
- The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Selecting Plants for Pollinators
A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers,
and Gardeners In the California Coastal Steppe
Mixed Forest Redwood Forest Province
- NAPPC & Pollinator Partnership
Selecting Plants for Pollinators
A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers,
and Gardeners In the California Coastal Range
Open Woodland Shrub Coniferous Forest Meadow Province
- NAPPC & Pollinator Partnership
Bee Friendly Farming
- Partners For Sustainable Pollination
 Xerces Society |
 Partners for Sustainable Pollination |
 Baelin | ||||
Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
2776 Sullivan Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472
phone: (707) 823-5244 | fax: (707) 823-5243
email: brittany@goldridgercd.org
many thanks to the Sonoma County Water Agency for funding the development of this website