website<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nlast spring, a group of mansfield residents registered the township with pollinator pathway. the process started with mansfield\u2019s sustainability committee successfully passing a resolution that declared the town a \u201cpollinator-friendly community\u201d in early 2020. due to this resolution, getting municipal approval to build and maintain pollinator gardens became easier, and helped with getting pollinator pathway on board with the group\u2019s proposed garden, according to melissa sheardwright. a private-practice psychologist by day, sheardwright handles outreach in the mansfield chapter of pollinator pathway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
mansfield and wilton show the successes of local sustainability advocacy, however, both towns are suburban areas surrounded by woodland. migratory species, which pollinator pathway focuses on, are most affected by habitat loss caused by urbanization and suburbanization. this is why the end goal of the organization is to create stretches of pollinator-friendly land in both urban and rural areas. without adequate \u201cpit stops,\u201d the pollinators cannot survive the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
restoring pollinator habitats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n monarch butterfly populations in north america have decreased by more than 90% over the last two decades, according to the national wildlife foundation. the areas in which the migratory butterflies seek food and rest are disappearing, taking monarch populations with them. this is caused not only by urban\/suburbanization, but also by global warming, which shifts the seasons and throws off the growing cycles of many organisms. this causes the species that rely on each other to fall out of sync, affecting food and shelter availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cthe insects\u2019 life cycles are now out of sync with the birds\u2019 hatching cycles or with the trees\u2019 leafing out cycles, so nature is confused,\u201d said algon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
monarchs are just one example of the many pollinators whose numbers have been decimated. bees, flies, bats, birds, and other organisms also face migration and habitat issues. bees are a quintessential example, but most people mistakenly think of honeybees as the main pollinators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201choneybees are not native bees\u2026they do a lot of important pollinating, especially for farmers, but 40% of the pollinating that gets done is done by what\u2019s called \u2018solitary bees.\u2019 people spray their yards with pesticides to get rid of them, but they can\u2019t sting you,\u201d said algon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
it\u2019s important to restore plant life to developed areas. but supporting pollinators doesn\u2019t just call for more greenery. the pathways must comprise native plant species that pollinators rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
algon\u2019s first brush with native plant species and habitat protection came when she moved to wilton with her husband. she wanted to plant some colorful bushes on their property, but the landscape architect told her that part of the property is on wetlands, and those bushes were invasive. \u201cat that moment, i realized that i was dangerous to the ecology because i didn\u2019t know anything,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
this lack of knowledge is all too common. many of the most popular plants sold in traditional garden centers are non-native. forsythia, for example, looks beautiful in a garden, but \u201cit\u2019s not native and it doesn\u2019t feed the insects,\u201d sheardwright said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
according to the pennsylvania department of conservation and natural resources (padcnr), invasive plants usually are species that can survive in many conditions, and that rapidly grow and reproduce. this allows them to crowd out native species, especially since invasive plants have few natural predators in the new areas. moreover, invasives directly affect pollinator reproduction. garlic mustard, a widespread invasive species, attracts monarch butterflies, who lay their eggs on the plant. but the plant does not provide adequate nutrition for the emerging caterpillars, causing them to die off or grow improperly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
invasive species have cost the united states an average of $26 billion annually in the 2010\u2019s, according to a 2021 study<\/a>. this is a substantial rise from the $2 billion per year spent in the early 1960\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201c[invasives often] have multiple seeds that spawn more than our natives do, so they take over easily,\u201d said pamela nobumoto, a resident of wilton and frequent collaborator with pollinator pathway. a stay-at-home mom, she started gardening as a hobby. but she has since turned it into her passion. she was certified as an \u201cadvanced master gardener\u201d through uconn extension, a program offered by the college of agriculture, health, and natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\ncommunity volunteers working on the three sisters garden, one of the many volunteer-created gardens on sherwood island. (pamela nobumoto)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nmuch of her work involves restoring the dunes and native grass at the beach on sherwood island in westport, conn., for which she has applied for and received multiple grants. she has also planted pollinator gardens on the island and in wilton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
as a result, she has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers and types of pollinators that visit the area. \u201ca lot of the things i put in are like magnets for butterflies, bees [and] hummingbirds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
preserving a future for connecticut pollinators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n in addition to planting gardens, pollinator pathway places a heavy emphasis on educating people about the environment around them. one of the main goals of the founders was \u201cmaking people aware of what they could do,\u201d said algon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
making your yard pollinator-friendly doesn\u2019t necessarily mean ripping up your grass lawn and planting trees and bushes. sometimes, it can be as simple as not mowing as often. algon has seen people do this in her neighborhood. \u201cwe encourage people to embrace dandelions, and to love clover; if you let them just grow, they will provide a great food source and some habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
as a result, lawns would require less maintenance. \u201cthe less you do, by taking out more of your lawn, by converting it into little meadows or garden beds\u2026the less you have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sheardwright and nobumoto also emphasized the importance of educating community members about native species and pollinators. sheardwright described her work as \u201cneighbor education\u201d. nobumoto sometimes works at a plant clinic, wherein people can bring in plants to identify or treat for diseases. she said that gardening is a community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cit\u2019s a lot of sharing knowledge; it\u2019s not just [for] yourself, but helping others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
migratory pollinators are losing habitat due to human development. these connecticut gardeners are fighting back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11752,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4900,5034],"tags":[205,162,3602],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-27071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-green-living","category-storyfest-2023","tag-community","tag-gardening","tag-pollinators"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
connecting flights: connecticut gardeners forge pathways for migrating pollinators - planet forward<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n