The Garden Club of Newtown's program on Tuesday, April 24, at 1 pm, will be "We Need Our Pollinators" presented by Holly Kocet and Mary Gaudet-Wilson in the lower meeting room at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

Holly Kocet is an active member of Protect Our Pollinators. She is currently serving on Newtown Conservation Commission.

She is also a certified advanced master gardener with the University of Connecticut (2011), and a past president of The Garden Club of Newtown. Ms Kocet is employed by Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery in Woodbury, where her love of native plants was nurtured, and where she has learned a great deal about native plant species that support bees, butterflies, and other wildlife.

Ms Gaudet-Wilson is a founder of Protect Our Pollinators. She is also an educator and former Newtown Conservation Commission chairman.

Their power point presentation is titled "We Need Our Pollinators - who are they, what they need, and how can we help them." The program includes interesting facts about who is responsible for pollinating the flowers, plants, trees, and many of foods for human consumption. It describes their needs, their habits, and how to attract them to your garden. The program points out how valuable pollinators are and causes for the decline of many pollinator species. Finally, some suggestions are given on how we can help them and be enriched ourselves in the process.

Protect Our Pollinators (POP) is a small group of dedicated individuals based in Newtown who advocate for pollinators and their habitats. Its staff includes several members of The Garden Club of Newtown.

POP was formed in the summer of 2015 after learning about a young girl who wanted to plant a garden for bees and butterflies. She spent her own money to purchase plants at a local nursery and soon planted a garden she was very proud of.

When it was discovered that bees in her garden were dying, her mom sought help to find the cause for what was happening to the bees. Soil testing determined that the plants she purchased at a local garden center had been treated with a Neonicotinoid (Neo-nic) systemic insecticide. This insecticide was poisoning bees that visited the flowers in her garden. POP's founders realized rather quickly that something needed to be done to make the public aware of overuse and misuse of pesticides, and the plight of pollinators including bees, butterflies, birds, and others.

Through education, the POP Initiative seeks to increase awareness of threatened pollinator species including native bees, honeybees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, as well as birds and bats; encourage planting of native species for pollinators and other wildlife; increase awareness of harmful pesticides and their effects on bees and other pollinators; provide safe alternatives to harmful pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides); and seek local government and state support for protection of pollinators.

Members have set up a website, written many articles, created brochures on "Alternatives to Pesticides and Planting a Pollinator Garden," and published a newsletter called Buzz Words. POP offers presentations for garden clubs and other organizations including UConn Master Gardeners and NOFA, and members attend many events where they set up displays and provide materials and informational fact sheets.

Garden Club of Newtown meetings are free and open to the public. Reservations are not needed; additional information is available from Club President Peggy Townsend, 203-791-8321.

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-313027" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Garden-Club-to-host-POP-co-founders-Kocet-Wilson-with-display.jpg" alt="Garden Club to host POP co-founders -- Kocet & Wilson with display" width="800" height="412" /]

Protect Our Pollinators Co-Founders Holly Kocet, on the left, and Mary Gaudet-Wilson will present a program about pollinators - what they are, why they are in danger, what can be done to help and protect them - during the next Garden Club of Newtown meeting. Between the women is a display board their group has used for previous public display and educational offerings.

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