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Continuing our Sharing Pollinator Pathway Success Stories series, from a temperate forest in the Appalachian foothills, the Licking County, Ohio Pollinator Pathway sprang into action with a 4H-Club pocket park that framed its forward momentum. Local groups decided to organize the Pathway at the county level with libraries and land trusts as allies. They used the Pollinator Pathway website template, giving it a two-thumbs up as their platform for cross- promoting events like a milkweed giveaway, that drew hundreds of people and a banner newspaper headline “Licking County Groups Building Gardens to Save Bees, Butterflies and Other Pollinators.” According to Susan King, the County’s Pathway leader, “From one little garden, it’s spreading fast. Now all the churches are on board and people ask, ‘How can I help?’” Licking County Pollinator Pathway hosted a seed collection. After seeds dried and were processed, seed packets were available to the public via the Community Seed Library at Granville Public Library. For more about the Licking, Ohio Pathway, check out their website HERE. To listed to the full webinar recording, click HERE. If you want to tune into Susan’s~10 minute section, start at 24:46

Looking for a way to properly discard your Christmas tree? Our pollinators can use it! Native pollinators need habitat for nesting and overwintering. According to the Xerces Society, "The primary habitat features used by pollinators and other insects for shelter include stems and branches of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers; leaf litter; undisturbed ground; bare ground; dead wood; brush piles; and rock piles.” By adding these features to your yard, along with not using pesticides and introducing native plants, you can attract and support native pollinators. Metallic Green Sweat Bee, nesting in a log laying on the ground Photo by Heather Holm “Compared to artificial nesting options such as bee blocks and bee hotels, natural nesting habitat features often better mimic the natural nest site density of insects and also break down naturally with  time, limiting disease and parasite issues.” Once you remove all decorations and lights from your Christmas tree, place it in your backyard in a “quiet corner” that is out of the way for wildlife to enjoy. Fallen logs and brush piles offer critical habitat to pollinators, including “hibernation sites for mourning cloak and other butterflies, soil access for ground nesting bees, daytime shelter for fireflies, and food for a diversity of wood-eating beetles and other organisms.” Brush piles also provide great habitat for birds- “chickadees, warblers, and other songbirds enjoy the hiding places provided by the branches and small mammals create warm burrows in the pile that later provide protected spaces for bumble bees to nest.” Check out Xerces “Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators & Other Beneficial Insects” to learn more.

Continuing our Sharing Pollinator Pathway Success Stories series, Pollinator Pathway leader Carol Alper from Cape Cod, MA described the Cape as “a very fragile sandbar.” In her quest to save its ecosystem, she visited the pollinator-pathway.org website and found how simple it would be to get started. Armed with tools like brochures, signs, and a logo, she began to network and grow the connections between the towns. Since the start of the Cape Cod Pollinator Pathway in 2020, the Audubon Sanctuary became a native plant education center; the Hyannis Business Association installed 100 native plant flower boxes along Main St., becoming a tourist attraction; garden clubs wanting to plant natives now could get grants that were formerly inaccessible; Cape Cod towns are passing municipal resolutions requiring the use of native plants. And, according to Carol, it all began with “just a bunch of people wanting to get Cape Cod covered with butterflies on the Pollinator Pathway map.” For more about the Cape Cod, MA Pathway, check out their website here. To listed to the full webinar recording, click here. If you want to tune into Carol's ~10 minute section, start at 14:04.

This summer, Pollinator Pathway hosted a webinar, Sharing Pollinator Pathway Success Stories. Pathway Community Organizers from across the country share successes, challenges, and lessons learned. From Lower Merion and Narbeth, PA. Michelle Detweiler shared her success - A suburban Philadelphia Pathway in the region of the Eastern Northern Piedmont wanted to link the habitats of New England to those of Baltimore and Washington because “wildlife needs a way to cross political boundaries.” With 175 properties on the map in Lower Merion and Narbeth, let’s make Michelle’s vision a reality by connecting more Pollinator Pathway communities from New England to Washington D.C.! Now with 175 public and private properties on their Pathway, they attribute their success to strong partnerships with land conservancies, garden clubs, libraries, and civic associations, and from placing their gardens in highly visible locations like dog parks, and train stations. Their mission to educate led to a partnership with the local library whose pollinator garden became a significant teaching tool for children. Local Leader Michelle Detweiler said, “The Pollinator Pathway is so easy--it grows just through word of mouth!” For more about the Merion and Narbeth Pathway, check out their website here. To listen to the full webinar recording, click here. If you want to tune into Michelle’s ~10 minute section, start at 2:22.

Together we can do extraordinary things! We’re so grateful you are partnering with us. In just the first 10 months of 2023, you’ve added 6700 acres along the Pollinator Pathway, where pollinators can be protected and wildlife can thrive. You are the communities and individuals that we strive to inspire, educate, and support. On this GivingTuesday, a day of unity and giving, please be generous so we can encourage the establishment of even more Pollinator Pathways that connect even more properties for our bees, birds, and butterflies. Donate Ask your neighbors to Join the Pathway. Add a Pollinator Pathway sign to your property. Learn more about Planting Natives, Avoiding Pesticides, and Rethinking Your Lawn. And please, Spread the word ! “The truth is, everyone one of us, no matter who we are or where we live, can and must play a part in restoring nature… now is the time for action, and together we can save it” David Attenborough, The Guardian, March 13, 2023

Native pollinators include hoverflies, houseflies, moths, wasps, beetles, hummingbirds and even bats and small mammals. "Hoverflies are efficient pollinators, coming second to bees during pollination studies." Photo by Karalyn Lamb In an insightful article entitled "Everything You Wanted to Know About Bees and Other Pollinators," Nick Dorian, a founder of the Tufts Pollinator Initiative, encourages us to appreciate the beauty and diversity of our native pollinators. According to Nick, " Pollinating insects are the backbone of the ecosystem. They help wild plants reproduce. They make sure that there’s food for other critters, and that cascades throughout the ecosystem. For example, many songbirds depend on bee-pollinated plants to migrate. Bees are by far the most important crop pollinators, but many animals that visit flowers are capable of helping plants reproduce. Some wasps are pollinators, as are hover flies, houseflies, moths, and hummingbirds." How can we help pollinators? Nick uses a helpful mnemonic: SEEDS: S stands for Spread native flowers E is for Employ a life-cycle approach E is also for Eliminate Pesticides D is for Discover what’s around you, and S is for Spread the word Read the full article HERE.

“Where do insects and other invertebrates go in the winter? The vast majority ‘overwinter,’ or spend winter, right where they spent all summer — just less active and more hidden. Many butterflies and moths overwinter as chrysalis or cocoons disguised as dead leaves. Don't blow away their cover. Photo by Karalyn Lamb Think twice before you rake, mow, and blow this year. Invertebrates rely on fallen leaves and other organic debris to cover and insulate them from the elements. Whatever your landscape, you can ensure that resources for nests and overwintering habitat are available.” Your backyard provides a plethora of habitat in the winter, just as it does in the spring if you maintain it correctly! From leaves and hollow stems, to brush piles and soil, pollinators use these habitats to overwinter in. “Leaving the leaves and other plant debris doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your yard to the wilderness. The leaves don’t need to be left exactly where they fall. You can rake them into garden beds, around tree bases, or into other designated areas. Too many leaves can kill grass, but in soil they can suppress weeds, retain moisture, and boost nutrition. Avoid shredding leaves with a mower. Raking or blowing (electric) are alternatives that will keep leaves whole for the best cover and protect the insects and eggs already living there. If you decide you need to clean up the leaves and debris in spring, make sure you wait until late in the season so as not to destroy all the life you’ve worked to protect.” Check out the Xerces blog on Leave the Leaves and for more resources.

“As Halloween approaches, devilish decorations are lining the streets. However, it's not the ghouls and ghosts giving wildlife experts a scare” (Fox43). Halloween decorations, most notably fake spiderwebs, but really “anything that dangles, loops or flutters” is potentially hazardous to wildlife and pollinators. Netting can trap insects, birds, and bats in the webbing and can cause injury and death as they try to escape. Fake pumpkins and corn can trick wildlife and they make try to eat it by mistake, causing them to choke. We recommend staying away from these hazardous decorations, however, “there are still ways to display the spider webs while being conscious of wildlife. Rehabilitation specialists recommend to not place it in places where birds frequently fly such as in between trees. A safer option is to display it in a window, an enclosed entryway, or even hanging it up against something solid” (MyTwinTiers). HOW CAN YOU HELP KEEP WILDLIFE SAFE THIS HALLOWEEN? Please don't use fake spider web or other decorations made of entangling fibers. Avoid decorations with loops or closed circles. A foraging animal can inadvertently put his head through a loop or circle and choke himself. Avoid decorations with small, dangling, edible-looking parts. Don't leave candy out where wildlife may find it and dispose of all candy wrappers properly. Dispose of carved pumpkins properly. Pumpkins are very attractive to wildlife as food, so properly dispose of them if you don't want post-holiday trick-or-treaters. Be alert for nocturnal wildlife while trick-or-treating. Avoid cutting across lawns and through brushy areas to avoid accidental encounters with your wild neighbors. Give wildlife a "brake"! Drivers on Halloween night know to be on the alert for children, but we encourage you to also be aware of wildlife that may be scared out of hiding by all the unusual nighttime activity. Avoid hanging lights or decorations in areas where deer pass. Strings of lights can become snare traps for adult male deer who get them caught in their antlers. HELP PREVENT ENTANGLEMENT INJURIES Always properly dispose of string-like objects. This means wrapping them tightly into a ball before throwing them away, and making sure they are contained, even within the garbage can. Don't use netting or webbing in your garden. Especially filament-like garden netting is nearly invisible to wildlife, and too many animals get tangled while hunting the very species you're trying to keep out of your garden. If you must use netting, always zip-tie it away from ground level to prevent entangling snakes, and check the netting twice a day (morning and night) for potential entangled victims. Avoid or properly dispose of anything with loops or closed circles. A foraging animal can inadvertently put his head through a loop or circle and choke himself. Always properly dispose of fishing line and hooks. Never leave fishing line on the ground where animals can reach it.

Or even if you haven’t ever used iNaturalist, this NPR podcast gives the interesting backstory of this important plant and insect identification app. Listen here. "Have you ever seen a weird bug or plant and thought, “Oh my God. What is THAT?” Then iNaturalist, a Bay Area invention, is the social platform for you. Begun as a graduate school project at UC Berkeley, it now receives hundreds of thousands of monthly submissions from nature enthusiasts across the globe. Users post photos of what they have seen and where they found it, and fellow citizen scientists, and often actual, scientists help identify the flora, fauna and habitat... ow the site is going independent with the help of a $10 million grant. " Learn more about iNaturalist on their website and check out Pollinator Pathway's very own iNaturalist project here!

Join the Pollinator Pathway for an update on state's efforts to restrict the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Speakers cover the science behind the threats posed by “neonics” to pollinators, biodiversity, and our own health as well as neonics’ surprising prevalence in our environment. These widely used pesticides contaminate soil, water, and plant life on a nearly unprecedented scale, driving mass losses of birds and bees, and raising alarm bells for a whole host of wildlife, clean water, and human health. The webinar also provides information on pending legislation we can impact. WATCH THE WEBINAR HERE Speakers: Dan Raichel, Acting Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Pollinator initiative, and Dr. Kathleen Nolan, President of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, New York Chapter, and Senior Research Director at Catskill Mountainkeeper, who joined us last year for a talk on neonics.

WATCH HERE Did you know there are now over 325 community Pollinator Pathway projects in 19 states and Canada? In this webinar Donna Merrill, Director of the Pollinator Pathway National Organization, shares some exciting new developments along the Pollinator Pathway, and Pathway Community Organizers from across the country share successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Email us about what you are doing in your community at info@pollinator-pathway.org.

Photo by Heather Holm, Bombus citrinus female on Eutrochium purpureum With earlier springs and warmer fall days, pollinators need plants that provide resources at the farthest fringes of the growing season. It’s long been a primary tenet of gardening for pollinators to ensure you provide plants that bloom throughout the entire growing season. Not only is this just good gardening, ensuring your landscape is colorful from spring through fall, as the two examples that follow illustrate, it’s more essential than ever to ensure your garden is prepared for pollinators not just during the peak of summer, but during the earliest days of spring and the last days of fall. Check out the full post from Xerces Society