Much of humankind’s food, and even greater proportions of food for wildlife. depend on pollinators, pollinators that are being threatened by continued expansion of human development into the natural spaces they need. Pesticide use on lawns, in gardens, and in agriculture is destroying their habitat and contributing to their collapse.
Many people are becoming aware of the risks associated with pollinator collapse and are responding by planting organic native flowers, shrubs, and trees to provide food and habitat for pollinators and other creatures, as well as enhanced environment for humans.
We have begun a pollinator corridor along the MRG. With funding from the Robert F. Church Charitable Trust, we are planting a string of pesticide-free pollinator gardens, fruit trees, and berry bushes for bees, butterflies, birds, and even hungry humans.
Six pollinator plantings are already well-underway:
*A pollinator garden in the “Pocket Park” adjacent to Mascoma Falls and to the tunnel, behind Goss-Logan Insurance.
* A small pollinator meadow on the Goss-Logan hillside.
* A pollinator garden at the MRG access at the intersection of Mascoma/Mechanic/High streets. (Common milkweed, Queen Anne’s lace, clover, and goldenrod were already in place.)
Silver Spotted Skipper butterfly on clover
Milkweed, liatris, fleabane, coneflowers, New England asters, yarrow, hyssop, borage, Queen Anne’s lace, goldenrod, and rudbeckia
Monarch on Milkweed
* A pollinator garden is being planted next to the new, easy-access parking lot west of the underpass by APD Hospital.
- On Saturday September 21,, 2019, more than 40 Upper Valley Apple Corps volunteers and friends of Mascoma River Greenway planted 2 organic apple trees and two organic elderberry shrubs in this parking lot area.
- On the western end of the MRG, in the moist area at the base of the Price Chopper access, volunteers planted dogwoods, aronia, button bush and high-bush cranberry.
- And three organic high-bush blueberries and an organic apple tree were planted near the umbrella sculpture.
See more on the September 21, 2019 Planting Day
Resources for planting for pollinators:
Local Sources of pesticide-free perennial and annual flowers:
Cedar Circle Farm, East Thetford, VT
Honey Field Farm (formerly Killdeer Farm) Norwich VT will have organically-certified flowers in 2021
NH List for Planting for Pollinators
VT List for Planting for Pollinators
Pollinator-friendly Plants for the Northeast United States
