Story and photos by Lori Adler, reporter

Thursday, several area gardeners got together with staff from Oneida County Land and Water Conservation to transplant native flower seedlings into larger containers as part of the “Bee the Change” program.

Oneida Land and Water Conservation has been growing native plants in Aquatic Invasive Species-affected sites and along roadsides for a couple of years. The goal of this program is to increase the number of native plants in the area in order to provide food and habitat for the many pollinators that call the Northwoods home.

Pollinator numbers have been dwindling in recent years, and the “Bee the Change” program at Oneida County Land and Water is working to reverse this trend by increasing habitat in the wild as well as encouraging residents to add native pollinator-friendly plants to their yards and gardens. A number of demonstrations and seminars were held throughout this spring and early summer to educate the public on the pollinator issue.

Volunteer Katy Head of Minocqua carefully transplants seedling sown last fall into larger containers.

Last fall, seeds gathered from the many planting sites were sown into small pots and overwintered. The seedlings were ready to transplant into individual containers so that they can grow larger and stronger before being planted in the wild. Several garden volunteers were on hand to help with the process. This transplanting party was held at the Oneida County Courthouse pollinator garden, allowing volunteers to see full-grown versions of many of the seedlings they were transplanting. As a special thank-you, each volunteer was able to take home one of the newly transplanted flowers for their own gardens.

Newly transplanted flowers will grow the rest of the summer, and possibly overwinter, before being planted in their final location.