Smooth Fleabane (DIANA BIZECKI ROBSON)
The Manitoba Museum has launched a new virtual exhibit to educate the public on pollinating insects and the wild plants they depend on.
Prairie Pollination is led by the Manitoba Museum’s curator of botany, Dr. Dina Bizecki Robson.
“Pollinators need our help, but humans need their help even more,” Bizecki Robson said. “Two-thirds of our crop species worldwide depend on wild pollinators to some degree. Those pollinators need more than just crop plants to survive — they need wild plants too.”
The exhibit includes photographs of endangered and common prairie plants, and their insect and bird pollinators. Watercolour paintings of wild plants from the Museums’ famous Norman Criddle collection, and virtual tours of wild prairies with pollination scientists add depth and context to the specimens.
A free mobile PlantSpotting app for Android and Apple devices will also enable users to post their own pictures of wild plants and pollinators.
The exhibit was developed in partnership with the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) Investment Program, the Heritage Grants Program, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism Department, Government of Manitoba, and the Manitoba Museum Foundation Inc.
