Pollinator friendly Best Management Practices for stormwater management
An increasing focus on Green Infrastructure has brought an awareness that stormwater management can provide numerous benefits beyond improving water quality and urban hydrology. Trees, for example, provide a multitude of benefits beyond stormwater management, as discussed in this article. In particular, vegetated stormwater best management practices (BMPs), including tree-based systems and other bioretention systems, offer opportunities to achieve multiple benefits, ranging from aesthetics (see, for example, this presentation by Dr. Steven Rodie from the University of Nebraska - Omaha) to ecosystem friendly designs.
Vegetated stormwater BMPs can be designed to be pollinator-friendly. It is clear that pollinators, both vertebrates and invertebrates, are in decline (see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. This page provides numerous links to information that can be used in designing and implementing pollinator-friendly stormwater BMPs.
Pollinator friendly plants
- Metro Blooms: Planting for Pollinators: How Raingardens Can Help
- The Xerces Society for invertebrate Conservation: Pollinator plants - Great Lakes Region
- Pollinator Partnership: Ecoregional Planting Guides
- United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service: Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants
Pollinator friendly practices
Although much of the information on these pages is general, many of the practices can be incorporated into vegetated stormwater BMPs.
- United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service: Pollinator Friendly Practices