<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><META content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv=Content-Type></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=3 face=Arial>
<DIV>
<H2>From Mansfield TODAY</H2>
<H2><A title="Permanent Link to Did you know? It s National Pollinator Week" href="http://mansfield.htnp.com/2013/06/20/national-pollinator-week-why-you-should-care/" rel=bookmark>Did you know? It’s National Pollinator Week</A></H2>
<DIV class=block>
<DIV class="article first_main_article">
<DIV class=meta><SPAN class=time>June 20, 2013</SPAN> <SPAN class=categories><A title="View all posts in Areawide" href="http://mansfield.htnp.com/category/areawide/" rel="category tag">Areawide</A>, <A title="View all posts in Feature" href="http://mansfield.htnp.com/category/feature/" rel="category tag">Feature</A></SPAN> <SPAN class=discuss><SPAN class=dsq-postid rel="21737 http://htnp.net/mansfield/?p=21737">No Comments</SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV style="WIDTH: 254px" id=attachment_2745 class="wp-caption alignright"><IMG class=" wp-image-2745 " alt="Pollinators are birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees. They are responsible for pollinating one out of every three bites of food we eat. However, these invaluable creatures are facing declines. " src="http://htnp.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/POLLINATOR-WEEK-LOGO.jpg" width=244 height=174>
<P class=wp-caption-text>Pollinators are birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies,
beetles, wasps, small mammals and most importantly, bees. They are responsible
for pollinating one out of every three bites of food we eat. However, these
invaluable creatures are facing declines.</P></DIV>
<P>On Friday, June 21, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of
the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, Pollinator Partnership and
others will celebrate the 2013 <A href="http://www.fws.gov/pollinators/" target=_blank>National Pollinator Week</A>, which is designated as June
17-23.</P>
<P>Pollinators are birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small
mammals and most importantly, bees.</P>
<P>They are responsible for pollinating one out of every three bites of food we
eat. However, these invaluable creatures are facing declines.</P>
<P>The push for a Pollinator Week to raise awareness of the dangers to our food
supply caused by such things as bee die-off and overuse of pesticides was
originally initiated by the Pollinator Partnership.</P>
<P><SPAN id=more-21737></SPAN></P>
<P>You can read more about this organization and other National (and
International) Pollinator Week activities at this link <A href="http://pollinator.org/pollinator_week_2013.htm" target=_blank>http://pollinator.org/pollinator_week_2013.htm</A></P>
<P>USDA agencies, other federal departments and partners also share knowledge
and collaborate on efforts to help increase awareness and tackle challenges
facing pollinators.</P>
<P>National Pollinator Week is an opportunity to learn what steps we can take in
our own backyards and communities to help pollinators.</P>
<P>The Washington festival will include workshops on how to grow a
pollinator-friendly garden from The Washington Youth Garden, the DC Beekeepers
Alliance and University of Maryland Extension. Other activities will include
honey tasting, a pollinator puppet show for children, and the USDA Farmers
Market.</P>
<P>Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s “People’s Garden Initiative” is hosting
the Pollinator Week Festival for the fourth year.</P>
<P>The “People’s Garden Initiative” promotes the creation of school or community
gardens that are pollinator-friendly.</P>
<P>For more information on how to register a new or existing community garden as
a People’s Garden, visit the website at <A href="http://www.usda.gov/peoplesgarden" target=_blank>www.usda.gov/peoplesgarden</A></P>
<P><I>Posted June 20, 2013</I></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Laurie Davies
Adams<BR>Executive Director<BR>Pollinator Partnership<BR>4</FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">23 Washington St.
5th Fl.<BR>San Francisco, CA 94111<BR>T: 415.362.1137<BR>F: 415.362.0176<BR><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1371862968@aol.com" border=0 width=319 height=173 DATASIZE="27063" ID="MA1.1371862968" ></FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR>Follow up on <A href="http://twitter.com/#!/Pollinators">Twitter</A> and <A href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pollinator-Partnership/48680445464">Facebook</A>!</FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>