Keep America Beautiful and national skincare partner, Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Skincare are working together to beautify communities and support pollinator health.

Making your community greener can increase property values, spur economic development, deter crime, improve environmental health, bring people together, and simply make you feel good.

Plan to use native, pollinator-friendly plants at home and in your community’s vital public spaces. Tell your friends and family about the importance of native, pollinator-friendly species – and get them involved, too!

Keep America Beautiful is an original member of the National Pollinator Garden Network, an unprecedented collaboration of national, regional, conservation and gardening groups to support the United States’ “National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators” and a proud participant in the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a campaign to register a million public and private gardens and landscapes to support pollinators

Whether you’re just starting or are well on your way, here are a few tips and resources from Keep America Beautiful to help plant beauty wherever you live, work and play.

• Follow @DickinsonsWitchHazel on Instagram by 9/9/2017 to automatically donate $1 toward the planting of Dickinson’s Pollinator Gardens in communities across the country.
• Share a photo on Instagram of local flowers supporting pollinator health in your community using the hashtag #witchhazelfeedsbees for a chance to be randomly selected for a weekly product and pollinator garden giveaway.
• Participate in Keep America Beautiful’s National Planting Day, which is observed annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day (Sept. 9, 2017) and throughout the month. A fall initiative of Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program, National Planting Day was created to celebrate the value and power of native species in restoring ecological balance to the environment.
• Natives are critical to attracting specialized pollinators and insects, which in turn provide food for birds and ultimately many more animals up the food chain. Plus they’re hardy, low maintenance and require less water than other ornamentals. Visit the Pollinator Partnership website for eco-regional planting guides tailored to specific areas of the U.S.
• Start small. Plant a container garden or a balcony garden if you’re in an urban area or a personal garden if you have a little more room in your backyard. This easy “Start A Garden” app is a helpful tool to begin.
• If you’re just getting started, enlist an expert from a local nursery or garden center to learn how to “plant right” by putting the right plant in the right place. Want your garden questions answered? You can also get answers from a Cooperative Extension expert online.
• Create a list of plants appropriate for your hardiness zone and the growing conditions you’ve determined exist for your site. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map will help you determine if the plants you’ve selected will thrive.
• What about the quality of your soil? A simple test can determine the quality of the soil on the site. Once the soil is tested, you’ll know what steps are needed to amend it.
• Start composting! Keep America Beautiful and United States Composting Council work together to raise awareness of the important role composting plays in waste reduction, improved soil structure, improved water quality, and reduced soil erosion by sharing educational resources and collaborating on various programs.
• Download this easy to use #CleanYOURBlock Party Volunteer Guide from Keep America Beautiful for more ideas and tips on ways you can help your community be a clean, green and beautiful place to live!