Penn State Master Gardeners at Carbon County recently welcomed the Dimmick Library as the fourth garden in the county to be certified pollinator friendly by Penn State.

Along with Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary on Route, 903, the Dimmick Library will become a local center for residents of Carbon County to learn how they can help protect the declining butterfly population and the disappearing bees.Although much has been said about the loss of our honey bees through colony collapse, all of our bees are on the decline due to habitat loss, disease, and contact with pesticides. The problem is related to the widespread use of agricultural land for corn and grain. These crops are wind pollinated and so do not offer any food for bees and other pollinators.In the spring of 2015, there will be a new threat to our native butterflies and moths. The coming gypsy moth infestation will defoliate trees that some native caterpillars need for food. Some trees won't survive radical defoliation so early in the season when all their energy is going toward recovering from the deprivations of winter. Some residents will be forced to spray their trees to save them, but spraying also kills other butterfly and moth larvae that are on the tree.For all these reasons, it's crucial to the survival of our butterflies and moths that we plant pollinator friendly gardens this spring, and that we stop spraying and mowing down the wildflowers in our meadows and along our roads.The goal of the Master Gardener pollinator program is to certify public and private gardens in communities all over Carbon County. Public gardens are crucial for their ability to become information centers. This winter, the pollinator committee will be making an inventory of public facilities with the potential of becoming educational centers like the Dimmick Library and Bear Mountain Butterflies.Master Gardeners will offer assistance in the form of workshops and mentoring to help these gardens get certified. To add your name to the list, email

CarbonExt@psu.edu or call 570-325-2788. Some gardens, both public and private, will already qualify for certification. Penn State explains the criteria at

http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators/public-outreach/cert.In addition to the two gardens mentioned above, two more gardens are already certified. One is a private residence in Jim Thorpe, and the other is the pollinator demonstration garden planted at Penn State Extension office on Lentz Train in Jim Thorpe. That means that all of the certified gardens are in the Jim Thorpe area.Master Gardeners would love to certify your garden and the garden of the school, church, or library in your neighborhood. Residents are encouraged to peruse the Penn State website, and call 570-325-2788 for more information. The green line is closed until next March, but the office will take your information and you will be called to help you start planning for spring.Through the growing season next year, we will offer workshops at the extension office at Lentz Trail, and at the nearby Carbon County Environmental Education Center. We will cover topics such as growing native plants, soil management and composting, plant disease and plant propagation, and gardening for pollinators.For more information or a list of events, go to

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/master-gardener/counties/carbon. You may also call the extension office at 570-325-2788 for more information.