JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A collaborative effort between the Jamestown High School, James Valley Career and Tech Center, Pheasants Forever and more will bring a new learning opportunity to area students.
“Blue Jay Acres” will be a pollinator conservation, focusing on efforts to help with pollination services. This includes birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and bees both native and commercial.
Austin Lang, North Dakota Precision Ag and Conservation Specialist with Pheasants Forever, says they would build the pollinator mix and demo plot on just under 2 acres of land.
“The idea is to educate the students on the role of flowering plants and pollinators in the ecosystem, to demonstrate what some of these plants look like, as well as provide benefits to wildlife, soil health, and other environmental benefits,” Austin Lang explains.
“Our hope is it will be a good place for the public to enjoy birds and other wildlife, as well as have educational opportunities and more,” he added.
Lang explains that pollinators are declining worldwide due to Varroa Mite and Colony Collapse Disorder, Loss of Habitat, and insecticides. Projects like Blue Jay Acres will help rebuild back some of the needed pollinators habitat locally.
Other entities assisting with the project include the North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Fund, Stutsman Soil Conservation District, and Farmers Union Agronomy.
“We really strive to help farmers and landowners become more profitable, if that is their goal, while still creating some areas that are beneficial for wildlife and outdoor recreation,” Lang explained. “We use Precision Ag to analyze data that cooperators are willing to share and help them find solutions to make them more profitable and also create habitat.”
Once completed, the project will be maintained by the students with assistance from each entity. Lang says the educational opportunity will also come with some leisure activity beneficial to the area.
“With this project, we are really looking to educate about the purpose and value of flowering plants and pollinators, and also to demonstrate a ‘gold standard’ mix with many different species that will help show off what can be done,” he added. “We hope it can be a place that can be used in the future for hikers, bird watchers, and for education and outdoor classroom.”