News Release

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Creates Pollinator Habitats in Fields Surrounding the Village

Date: August 26, 2019
Contact: Brian Eick, 434-352-8987 Ext. 228

Fields of Flowers

NPS

Appomattox, VA – Pollinator are swarming to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Pollinators are primarily insects, such as bees, butterflies, moth and other species that pollinate plants to produce seeds. They are vital to human well-being by pollinating the crops we eat and keeping the natural ecosystems alive. In recent years, pollinator insects have been declining across the United States due to a variety of reasons including the loss of habitat. In 2015, the park began establishing test plots of native wildflowers in a former 14-acre hay field following the release of the 2014 National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.
 
Today, this field grows with a season-long variety of flowers that provide nectar and habitat for a wide variety of insects, including the Monarch butterfly. This year the park has received funding to expand pollinator habitat to a total of 45 acres over the next two years. Currently, another 105 acres of fields are currently managed in the park for native grasses and grassland breeding bird habitat, which also benefits pollinator insect species.
 Historical Park

P.O. Box 218 
Route 24
Appomattox, Virginia 24522
434-352-8987-phone
434-352-8330-fax
Appomattox, VA – Pollinator are swarming to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Pollinators are
primarily insects, such as bees, butterflies, moth and other species that pollinate plants to produce seeds. They are vital
to human well-being by pollinating the crops we eat and keeping the natural ecosystems alive. In recent years,
pollinator insects have been declining across the United States due to a variety of reasons including the loss of habitat.
In 2015, the park began establishing test plots of native wildflowers in a former 14-acre hay field following the release
of the 2014 National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.
Today, this field grows with a season-long variety of flowers that provide nectar and habitat for a wide variety of
insects, including the Monarch butterfly. This year the park has received funding to expand pollinator habitat to a total
of 45 acres over the next two years. Currently, another 105 acres of fields are currently managed in the park for native
grasses and grassland breeding bird habitat, which also benefits pollinator insect species.
While the park’s primary mission is to preserve the cultural landscape and protect the historic structures where the
final days of the Appomattox Campaign unfolded before General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lt. General Ulysses S.
Grant on April 9, 1865, the natural resources of the park are a focus as well. The fields around the historic village
where this meeting took place include hundreds of acres and are managed to protect both the cultural landscape and a
variety of natural resources. Thanks to the efforts of the natural resource management program at the park, a walk
through the park’s fields will showcase native bees, butterflies, and songbirds. The pollinator habitat is not only
beautiful, it is an essential ecological survival function.

E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C™A
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
About Appomattox Court House National Historical Park: On April 9, 1865, the surrender of the Army of Northern
Virginia in the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia signaled the end of the nation's
largest war. The stories of Appomattox Court House go far beyond the final significant battles of this nation's Civil
War. Learn more at www.nps.gov/apco.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for 
national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.