By Hazel England, GSWA Director of Education, Outreach, and Land Stewardship
After the last plug left our office, the deer fencing was dismantled, and the many trays put away for next year, we are thrilled to share that our pollinator enthusiasts purchased nearly 23,500 plugs at our 2nd annual (online) native pollinator plant sale – and that’s great news! But when you dig deeper and see that 500 purchasers across 96 towns purchased plants, the benefits to pollinators are even more significant. Now there are waystations for pollinators as they move around neighborhoods, and this will only increase as these gardens grow, and as our friends and neighbors follow our example.
Prior to the sale we conducted three informational webinars on native pollinator plants, our important pollinators themselves, and how to prepare your own garden. Planting for pollinators is at the core of watershed friendly living, biodiversity protection, and water quality improvement; so it was impressive to see just how much interest this generated. In fact, over 750 people attended these programs!
As a supplement to these information-sharing webinars, we prepared three Make Way for Pollinators newsletters. Each newsletter was packed with a host of biodiversity and low impact friendly suggestions for anyone ranging from first-time native planters to avid gardeners. We will keep this momentum going by continuing to offer additional newsletters and webinars periodically to our growing number of native pollinator plant lovers.
Make Way for Pollinators Plant Sale Newsletter Archive
The untold volunteer hours our pollinator partners put forward for this enormous collaboration is the most satisfying aspect of the program for me. To know that there so many others working regionally to encourage homeowners and yards, schools, and parks to fill with native plants is exciting. Many thanks to our 26 Pollinator Plant Community Partners in helping to organize, publicize and deliver logistical support for this online Sale. Municipal and non-profit community organizations we could not have done this without you! Click HERE for a full list of partners.
For tips, tricks, and lots of information on the benefits of planting a native pollinator plant garden, click HERE. Stay tuned for more programs and newsletters to come! In the meantime, now is a great time to start thinking about starting or expanding your garden next spring! Contact plantsale@greatswamp.org to request ongoing email updates and reminders.