ATC

Pollinators power Milwaukee County Zoo’s Party for the Planet

Despite the occasional cool rain showers (and even snow in years past), it doesn’t stop visitors from coming to the Milwaukee County Zoo’s annual Party for the Planet. How do we know? ATC has been a sponsor of this event for over a decade.

“Party for the Planet is one of our favorite events here,” said Laura Pedriani, marketing and communications director the Milwaukee County Zoo. “It really covers so much of what the Zoo is about and we’re so happy to be able to partner with American Transmission Co.”

ATC’s message for Zoo visitors at Party for the Planet is focused on pollinator education. Those who stopped at the ATC booth in the US Bank Gathering Place played our pollinator wheel game by guessing if the animal shown once the wheel stopped really was a pollinator or not. Bats? Yes. Horses? No. And so on. Kids also got to see what they’d look like as a pollinator with our free photo op and visitors picked up their Grow Smart® planting guide, pollinator planting guide and Tall Tickseed seed packets to help attract pollinators.

ATC’s featured pollinator garden is maintained in the Family Fun Farm just down the hill from the main entrance. Zoo visitors who stopped there had the opportunity to meet nationally known gardening expert, TV/radio host, author and columnist Melinda Myers and plant native species alongside her to help revitalize ATC’s beautiful pollinator garden. The lure is the same for all those who visit: plant now, and come back to the Zoo to see how it’s grown.

“What’s really fun is that I have kids who want to stay planting once they get to the garden and then say that they don’t need to see the animals,” said Myers with a chuckle.

“As a company, we’re pretty dedicated to the environment, and helping pollinators,” said Mary Carpenter, senior local relations representative. “We operate approximately 9,600 miles of transmission lines, which is a lot utility line corridor. We’re really trying to use those rights-of-way to educate people on the importance of native and compatible vegetation and how that can help sustain the pollinator population.”

“The pollinator garden at the Zoo is a great example of what ATC is doing in their utility corridors to help pollinators,” said Myers. “I’m very proud to be part of this program and I find that people are very receptive and understanding that if you want power, you’ve got to really adjust what is planted underneath transmission lines. Ultimately – it’s a win-win for us, and for the pollinators as well.”