Happy Dancing Blog

Pollinators have been all the buzz in recent years as research has shown steady declines in populations. We’ve heard a lot about how pollinators are losing habitat and we need to plant more native species; or how pesticides like neonicotinoids are decimating bee populations across the country; or how our tendency for monocropping destroys the diversity of the ecosystem and the pollinators that depend on it. Overall, research regarding bees and other pollinators has come a LON

We don’t want to be an alarmist blog. But there’s something you need to know. Here goes: Modern Agricultural Practices Will Kill Us ALL!!! Did I get your attention? Good. Now, let me walk that statement back a bit. The industrial agricultural model, or “conventional” farming, is built on a combination of mono-cropping and use of chemical inputs. This is an efficient system designed to produce high volumes of a specific product (like corn, wheat, soy, or cotton) to meet the de

This month we are focusing on the importance of the pollinator. Coming from an urban background (Brainerd, MN so please allow me to be liberal with the term) I have a limited experience with pollinators in general. However, looking into the many types of bees and then looking at the central focus they have on pollinating our yards, gardens, and crops, it can be eye opening to see anything more than the common honeybee. It’s no surprise that with the popularization of the hone

YOU can make your own lawn a pollinator paradise. If you’ve got any size green space around your home, you can help bring pollinators to your area. Here are four simple ways to make that happen. This grassy area is without much needed food for pollinators, yet it looks like the majority of yards in the US. Build it and they will come It’s simple. If you plant pollinator-friendly plants, the many varieties of pollinators will find them. If your lawn is like the green area abov