Our yards and gardens are home to thousands of insects. The vast majority (90%) are beneficial or harmless.
Insects are crucial components in our yard and garden ecosystems. They perform many important functions, like aerating the soil, pollinating blossoms and controlling insect and plant pests.
Many, especially beetles, are scavengers that feed on dead animals and debris, recycling nutrients back into the soil and creating topsoil. Burrowing bugs like ants and beetles dig tunnels that provide channels for water.
On Saturday, July 16, Master Gardener Ann Brown will discuss the many different kinds of beneficial insects and lay out strategies to attract these insects to create environmentally friendly yards and gardens.
Ann Brown has been a Master Gardener since 2010. She maintains an organic yard and pollinator garden full of native plants on Lookout Mountain. She has volunteered at the Aquarium and Reflection Riding, and she writes articles for The Lookout Mountain Mirror, The Volunteer Gardener and The National Gardener.
As Bee City USA® Co-Chair, Ann advocates for increasing pesticide-free habitats for bees, butterflies and birds. Ann will host a special showing of the documentary "My Garden of a Thousand Bees," August 9 at Chattanooga State Community College.
Join Ann Saturday, July 16 at 10 am in person at the Agricultural Center (6183 Adamson Circle, off Bonny Oaks Drive in Chattanooga) or on Zoom.
Click HERE for information on 3rd Saturday Classes, including links to both in-person and Zoom registration. If you miss the class, you can view it later at our Facebook page, which features several past 3rd Saturday Classes.