Create a Pollinator Watering Station

Creating a pollinator watering station is a great activity to engage your child, and help them to learn about interconnectedness in our ecosystem, food production, and the importance of pollinators such as sum’suma’yu (bees) and skw’ulwexe (butterflies). Try out this low-cost creative crafting project!

Why Are Pollinators Important?

A pollinator is an animal that helps plants produce fruit or seeds. When pollinators such as bees, birds, bats, butterflies, and small mammals go to plants to eat their nectar, they get pollen grains stuck on them, which then rubs off onto the next plant they travel to. The pollen from one plant can fertilize the next plant that the pollinator gets nectar from. Only fertilized plants can make fruit and/or seeds, and without them, the plants cannot reproduce.

Did you know?

Almost 3/4 of all the flowering plants in the world rely on pollinators for seed and fruit production.

Bees and butterflies are considered Canada’s most important pollinators. The fruits, vegetables and seeds we eat are the result of pollination. Other products of pollination include cooking oil from crops like canola and flax, alfalfa used to feed animals raised for meat, cotton for clothing production, a wide range of medicines - and so much more!

Instructions

What You Need:

• A shallow dish or plate

• Small rocks, pebbles or marbles

• Water

• Optional: twigs, moss, shells and other natural decorations

Choose Your Dish

Find a shallow dish or plate. This will be the base of your pollinator watering station. You could use a plant tray, or an old baking dish, or choose a colourful dish from a thrift store!

Add Some Rocks

Place small rocks, pebbles, or marbles in the dish. These should be large enough that they stick out of the water slightly. Pollinators will land on these rocks to drink without getting too wet.

Prepare The Water

Fill the dish with enough water so that it just covers the rocks, but leaves the tops exposed. If you want to attract more pollinators, you can add a little salt to the water - the smell of this mineral helps bees and butterflies find the water.

Place Your Decorations (optional)

Adding decorations gives the pollinators other things to land on, and can make your watering station even more beautiful.

Set Up Your Station

Choose a sunny spot in your garden - preferably out of the way of foot traffic and close to flowers where bees and butterflies often visit. Place your dish on the ground or on a low stand. Make sure it’s stable and won’t tip over easily.
Maintain Your Station

Refill the water as needed. You don’t need to dump out the water, just top it off with fresh water and let the excess spill out over the edges of the basin. Any mosquito eggs laid in the standing water will be washed away.

Have fun and “bee” creative!

Click here to download a printable pollinator activity sheet