Wildlife Wednesday: Celebrating National Pollinator Week at Walt Disney World Resort

[Disney4me]

Did you know it’s National Pollinator Week? Here at Walt Disney World Resort, we celebrate all animals, even the tiniest ones. While they may be small in stature, pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are doing big things. These helpful insects move pollen from one part of a flower to another, helping the plant to produce fruit or seeds. This is good for the environment, and for us, because pollinators help fruits, vegetables, and even chocolate grow. In fact, more than 75 percent of the world’s crops rely on pollinators, but unfortunately, pollinators are experiencing a global decline due to habitat loss.

At Walt Disney World Resort, pollinator-friendly gardens surround our new 270-acre, 50-megawatt solar facility, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50,000 tons per year. In fact, more than two-thirds of the facility is pollinator-friendly and offers a nurturing and welcoming habitat for butterflies, bees and other insects, including endangered and at-risk species. 

Each week, the team of Disney Environmental and Horticulture experts visits the garden and methodically examines their test plots, observing their attractiveness to pollinators based on a variety of native plants and soil types. The team has spotted over 50 pollinators thus far, which is super encouraging for the team, as the garden is still early on in its growth.

Check out this video from Conservation Program Manager Rachel Smith to see what she and other members of Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment team are doing to help pollinators at our solar facility.

Be sure to keep reading the Disney Parks Blog and follow the Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment Facebook page all year long for other exciting environmental projects.

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