Pollinator Pathway
Addison County, Vermont
Towns of Addison County join in creating a Pollinator Pathway throughout the county!
We call ourselves PPAC, a shortened version of our official name, Pollinator Pathway of Addison County. Addison County is in Vermont’s southern Champlain Valley. Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains form the county’s western border, the Green Mountains the eastern.
PPAC’s Steering Committee meets monthly. At meetings representatives learn first-hand of projects underway in public places and private spaces throughout the county. Tours of private gardens were offered over the summer providing inspiration to all who could participate. To inquire about our stewardship efforts for stemming the steep decline in pollinator populations, please email us, PPAC, at pollinatorpathway.addisoncty@gmail.com.
We acknowledge and express appreciation for the vision and tenacity of PPAC’s three co-founders, Bethany Barry, Fran Putnam, and Brett Gilman. Bethany and Fran are Addison County residents, Brett is a junior at Middlebury College with a dual concentration in Socio-Ecological Studies and Architectural Studies. During his secondary schooling in Connecticut Brett volunteered in a program run by the founder of Pollinator Pathway, Donna Merrill. Brett invited Donna and others he knew to share their expertise with us through a virtual presentation. A series of talks was organized and successfully presented to a large web audience thanks to the collaboration of PPAC’s awesome threesome.
To view PPAC’s Spring 2022 webinar series, click the links provided below.
Pollinator Pathway: Bee the Change-Addison County Donna Merrill, the founder of Pollinator Pathway, explained what a pollinator pathway is and how to go about implementing one in your area.
The Green Corridor: Improving Biodiversity in Backyards and Protected Lands Mary Ellen Lemay of Connecticut based Aspetuck Land Trust. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRHMTIlOYjA
Ecotypes, Ecoregions, Ecological Restoration: The Ecotype Project “Seed Huntress”, Sefra Alexandra.
Planting for Pollinators in Vermont Emily May of the Xerces Society
The twenty-one municipalities of Addison County sit on land that belongs to the Western Abenaki the traditional caretakers of these Vermont lands and waters, which they call N’dakina or “homeland”. The land has served as a site of meeting and exchange among indigenous peoples since time immemorial. We remember their connection to this region and the hardships they continue to endure. We give thanks for the opportunity to share in the bounty of this place and to protect it. We are all one in the sacred web of life that connects people, animals, plants, air, water, and earth.
Contact us for more information in this planet-friendly community project!
Let's plant Pollinator Gardens, and create a haven for these fragile little guys who are so essential! We can do this together, with native plants, rewild our lawns, without pesticides and help the planet as well! Come and join us!
Spring Speaker Series
Save Vermont Pollinators
Creating Habitat for Vt. Butterflies in Gardens and Farms
Dr. Ray Moranz introduced some of the more frequently seen butterflies in Vermont and discussed their habitat needs. He also presented information on how to create a butterfly garden, with a focus on selection of plant species native to Vermont, but also how to create larger scale pollinator meadows for butterflies and bees.
Dr. Ray Moranz is the Grazing Lands Pollinator Ecologist for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. He is also a Partner Biologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service, assisting them with pollinator conservation. Monarch butterfly conservation is a major focus of his work, and he manages the Xerces Society's Monarch Nectar Plant Database.
PPAC was happy to have him inform and inspire us! March 23,2023
Managing Invasive Plants
Got the Buckthorn Blues? Knotweed Nightmares? Parsnip paranoia?
Mike Bald, of "Got Weeds?" will help! Learn about his techniques and knowledge.No herbicides, nor chemicals, but he hand-pulls, dries plants on pallets, uses a potato fork for parsnip, and a Felco saw for buckthorn. He's been dealing with invasive plants and shrubs for 13 years.
And he counts, as he pulls - his personal best is 4970 parsnip plants in 9 hours in Brownsville, VT. at a Christmas tree farm!