[Pollinator] NPW - DE - Governor Markell Celebrates Pollinator Week at Woodburn

[ladadams at aol.com]

Please contact anne.fitzgerald at state.de.us for the beautiful photos 
included in this story

June 23, 2009

Governor Markell Celebrates Pollinator Week at Woodburn

Dover – Today, Governor Markell and Delaware Department of Agriculture 
(DDA) Secretary Ed Kee, and representatives from Delaware’s agriculture 
industry joined together to celebrate Delaware Pollinator Week at 
Woodburn, the official residence of the Governor of Delaware.

“I’ve established June 22-29, 2009 as “Pollinator Week” in Delaware, in 
recognition of the importance of our pollinating insects to many of 
Delaware’s production agriculture crops,” said Markell. “Today is the 
first step in the Woodburn Garden Pollinator -Friendly Initiative Carla 
and I have begun. We want the Woodburn Garden to set an example that 
others can follow and expand upon.”

Pictured in the photos which ran with this story are the following 
individuals:

Ed Kee, Secretary of Agriculture, Brent Ashley, Kent County 
Representative to State FFA, Michael Scott State FFA Sentinel, Lindsay 
Bethard, State FFA Vice President, Samantha Steele, State FFA 
Secretary, Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware, Randy Spence, Plant 
Manager, Vlasic Pickles, Lori Hughes, State FFA Vice President, Amber 
Bullock, State FFA Reporter, Samantha Burton, State FFA President, 
Stacey Hofmann, State FFA Executive Secretary, Taylor Green, Kent 
County Representativ
e to State FFA.



  During the event, representatives from DDA presented pollinator 
significant items to Governor Markell for the Woodburn garden and 
pantry:

· Randy Spence, Plant Manager, Vlasic Pickles (Pinnacle Food Group, 
Inc.), Millsboro, DE, presented pickles for the Woodburn pantry. Bees 
are vital to the pollination of cucumbers.

· Dr. Frank Morro, President of the Delaware Beekeepers presented honey 
and other items for the Woodburn pantry.

· Valann Budischak, Delaware Nursery and Landscape Association, 
recognized for DNLA’s donation of pollinator friendly plants that have 
been planted in the Woodburn garden: Butterfly weed, Bee Balm, Asters, 
Liatris and Sunflowers.

· The Delaware Department of Agriculture presented a bee condo, which 
will provide valuable habitat/nesting for bees in the Woodburn garden. 
The bee condo was designed by DDA staff and built by DDA Forest Service 
staff for cavity-nesting bees such as orchard bees. They are 
constructed of wood from Delaware forests and materials.

Ed Kee, Secretary of Agriculture and Bob Ragin, DDA Forest Service with 
the bee condo, built by Ragin. The plant next to Ragin is Liatris, one 
of the many plants donated by the Delaware Nursery and Landscape 
Association to make the Woodburn garden more pollinator friendly.

 Faith Kuehn, DDA Plant Industries Administrator, g
ave a brief overview of the Department of Agriculture’s duties to 
protect pollinators, espec
ially bees. In her remarks, she said, “It’s 
not just honey bees that are suffering from population declines. 
Populations of native bees are also disappearing.”

  Kuehn continued, “The vast stretches of farmland, meadows and forests 
that once provided the food and nesting resources for bees are being 
replaced by cities, roads and suburban areas that are not as well 
suited to bees’ survival. Diseases and bee pests have been accidentally 
introduced, and also reduced population levels.”

  In closing remarks, Secretary Kee said, “I am very proud of our 
Delaware farmers, horticultural industry, and beekeepers for all that 
they do to protect all of our pollinator species. We at the Department 
of Agriculture are available to offer information and assistance to 
anyone who wants to implement pollinator-friendly practices at their 
site.”

Higher resolution electronic copies of pictures and the Governor’s 
proclamation are available: anne.fitzgerald at state.de.us . For more 
information on pollinator-friendly gardens, go to the Delaware 
Department of Agriculture’s website (www.dda.delaware.gov ) and look 
under Hot Topics.