Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Bethlehem continued their stewardship of the Sand Island Children’s Garden May 2 by adding 145 plants to create a pollinators’ garden against the backdrop of mural art created by Vo-Tech students on a Fritch Fuel Company storage building. A crew of volunteers from the club prepared the soil and planted cone flowers, black-eyed Susans, Joe Pye weed and bee balm among the plant species selected.

Professional landscaper Janice Schmidt, a member of the Monocacy Creek Watershed Association board, provided layout and plant selection guidance.

Past Rotary district governor Diane Donaher says the 54 member club schedules a weeding and cleanup twice yearly since celebrating its 100th anniversary ten years ago by renovating the garden area in celebration of the city’s 275th anniversary. She says the installation of the pollinator garden celebrates the Rotary Club of Bethlehem’s 110th anniversary.

“The environment is one of the Rotary’s seven areas of focus,” adds Donaher who says the $2,400 project was funded half by the Rotary Club of Bethlehem and half by a Rotary district marketing grant.

Donaher says that the Bethlehem Club is always looking for more people to join Rotary. They meet on Wednesday’s at noon at Prime. For more information visit their Website at bethlehemparotary.org.

According to The Bee Conservancy, “bees are responsible for pollinating one out of three bites of food and 80 percent of the world’s flowering plants.”

Visit thebeeconservancy.org for more information.