MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY (March 22, 2021) — Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) announced today they are working with 17 community partner organizations in 10 local towns to promote and offer a full selection of native plants that will be sold to the public for pollinator gardens. Plants will be sold online as kits and individually beginning April 1 at GreatSwamp.org.
The public is invited to browse and purchase the large variety of native plants available through April 22. Local pickup will take place May 1 and May 2, following COVID-19 protocols. Social distancing and mask wearing will be enforced.
Native plant gardens of any size in yards spread across the Great Swamp watershed and beyond significantly contribute to the support of many pollinators such as the Monarch Butterfly, whose populations are under stress. Pollinators provide a vital service that is necessary for the production of fruits and vegetables, as well as the health of plant and wildlife communities. Pollinator gardens are also enjoyed by people, providing beautiful blooms from spring through fall, enticing a wide variety of birds and insects.
“This plant sale fits GSWA’s mission of protecting every aspect of our watershed and ties in with our watershed friendly-living programing,” stated Hazel England, Director of Education, Outreach, and Land Stewardship. “The addition of every single native plant makes a difference and creates a little oasis for these important pollinators.”
To kick-off the plant sale, GSWA will host a Zoom webinar event on April 1, 12:00-12:30 PM: Gardening for Pollinators – Every Yard Matters. Registration site: www.greatswamp.org. GSWA and the community partners believe these events will help raise awareness on the importance of adding native plants to every yard and provide homeowners easy access and guidance to jump-start or expand their own native plant gardens. In addition, the plant sale will offer good selections of locally appropriate native plants that can be difficult for a typical homeowner to find on their own. A sale preview and supplementary resources on native plant gardening are available at http://bit.ly/GSWAplantsale, a site managed by community partner volunteers.
“This is a great collaborative effort with the environmental commissions, green teams, and other like-minded environmental organizations in our region,” said Sally Rubin, GSWA Executive Director. “Working together on a project like this is so much more impactful.”
The Plant Sale Community Partners support the GSWA sale by contributing volunteers, promotion into their communities, and local pickup sites. Partners includes: Bernards Township Environmental Commission, Burnham Park Association, Chatham Borough Environmental Commission, Chatham Borough Green Team, Chatham Township Environmental Commission, Friends of Foote’s Pond Wood, Garden Club of Madison, Green Summit, Harding Township Environmental Commission, Madison Environmental Commission, Morristown Shade Tree Commission, South Orange Environmental Commission-Green Team, Summit Area GreenFaith Circle, Summit Environmental Commission, Sprout House (Chatham), Township of Morris Environmental Commission, and Westfield Green Team.
GSWA has added dozens of other new watershed-friendly living programs to their calendar of events, most of which are free. More information and registration can be found at www.GreatSwamp.org.
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About the Great Swamp Watershed Association
Now in its 40th year, the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and improving the water resources of the Passaic River region, from the Great Swamp headwaters to Newark Bay, for present and future generations. Through education, advocacy, science, land preservation, and stewardship, in collaboration with partners, we work to instill our communities with an awareness of water’s effect on health and the beauty of the environment, from source to sea. The organization educates over 3,000 school children, monitors over 30 stream locations, and holds approximately 40 public events each year.
For more information about the Great Swamp Watershed Association, visit www.GreatSwamp.org.
