GM Pollinator Garden Attracts Bees, Butterflies and Awards

Every child knows that bees pollinate flowers to produce honey, but most people would be surprised at how many other foods come from pollinators. One out of every three bites of food humans eat comes from a pollinator. The cup of coffee you drink in the morning, your favorite box of chocolates, the chestnuts roasting on an open fire – you can thank pollinators for all those things.

With bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators playing such an important role in our diet, protecting them is important – especially given the rapid decline of pollinators in recent years. Nearly one-third of U.S. honeybee colonies died or disappeared last winter, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service cites habitat loss as one of the main threats facing pollinators.

Fortunately, pollinators are getting some help from employees at our facility in Saginaw, Mich., which was recently recognized by the Wildlife Habitat Council for its stewardship in protecting pollinators.

Saginaw Metal Casting Operations received the Pollinator Advocate Award and was one of 17 GM facilities with habitat programs newly certified or recertified by the Wildlife Habitat Council this year.

Each year the Wildlife Habitat Council and North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) offer the award for certified WHC programs that implement specific land management practices to promote pollinator populations.

The pollinator garden at our Saginaw facility is a part of the plant’s wetlands constructed in June 1999. Approximately 96 acres of the property are currently available for wildlife, with 50 acres involved in ongoing habitat enhancement projects.

The garden’s black-eyed-susans and purple coneflowers provide local bee populations with an ample source of nectar, while swamp milkweeds serve as an important food source for the monarch butterfly, another pollinator. Saginaw’s pollinator garden also includes larger varieties of flowers and shrubbery that provide cover to pollinator species from prey.

We are committed to increasing native biodiversity at our facilities and actively manage more than 4,243 acres of wildlife habitat around the world.