Pollinator Pathway
Monroe
Join the Monroe Pollinator Pathway!
Wherever you are in Monroe, if you have a meadow or one planter, you can help support our essential pollinators and other wildlife. Let’s get everyone in town to participate – residents, businesses, schools, organizations – any spot a plant will grow is an opportunity to support pollinators!
Participate
Add native pollinator plants, shrubs or trees to your property, whether yard, garden, patio or balcony. Help to eliminate widespread application of pesticides and fertilizers. Spread the word by educating friends and neighbors.
Volunteer
Help spread awareness at farmers markets and public events, create, water and maintain public pollinator gardens and help manage invasive species in public parks. Motivate your organization’s members to help protect pollinators.
Have a skill you can share with the Pollinator Pathway?
News and Events
What actions can you take?
Go native! Native plants are plants that occur naturally (without direct or indirect human intervention) in the location where they evolved and generally are the most attractive to pollinators.
Choose a variety of plants. Having plants that bloom in spring, summer, and fall will ensure food is always available for pollinators. Plant several of each variety (at least 3, or more if you can). Insects are attracted to drifts of color and it looks great in your garden!
Avoid cultivars. Many cultivars (cultivated varieties) have been altered to have a different color or form to attract a buyer but that can result in the plant being less attractive to insects and/or providing less pollen and nectar.
Leave the leaves and plant stalks in the fall. Do garden clean up in the spring. Insects will overwinter in leaf litter and plant stalks and birds will pick through the leaves for insects.
Start removing non-native plants (i.e. plants that originally came from other parts of the world) to make room for more natives! Non-natives support fewer insects and some will re-seed into woods or other unmanaged areas and crowd out native plants.
Leave some bare ground around your plants. Many native bees are ground dwelling – they need bare ground to nest.
Reduce or eliminate use of pesticides and herbicides
Not sure what plants to choose? There are lots of resources to help you learn about plants. The main Pollinator Pathway site includes native plant lists https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/native-pollinator-plants and where they are available https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/where-to-buy-native-plants
Need some inspiration? Visit the pollinator garden in Oak Grove at Great Hollow Lake (454 Purdy Hill Rd.) to see some beautiful native plants in person and the butterflies, bees, and birds that benefit from their pollen, nectar, and seeds.
If you have any questions about becoming part of the Pollinator Pathway in Monroe please send your questions to PollinatorPathwayMonroe@gmail.com.