Pollinator Pathway

Kettle Pond Native Plant Garden is a demonstration garden located at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center located at 50 Bend Road in Charlestown, RI. The University of Rhode Island Master Gardener Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnered to establish this native demonstration garden. This project showcases an important conservation message with the creation of native plant landscape gardens designed for different environmental conditions: full sun, sun/shade, and full shade. We are using RI native plants to show their diversity and to demonstrate biodiversity in the environment. The garden demonstrates some of the essential principals of designing and growing a native species garden such as: Related populations, not isolated individuals; Stress as an asset; Cover the ground densely by vertically layering plants; Make it attractive and legible; Management not maintenance. The garden’s goal is to be an educational resource to learn the importance of native plants, biodiversity, and the role of pollinators in everyday life. Visitors will learn to identify native plants and their benefits and how they may fit in their own landscapes. They will learn how to manage native plants using Integrated Management strategies. They will also learn how Indigenous People used plants and the folklore surrounding them.