AdkAction’s Adirondack Pollinator Project, in partnership with Lake Placid Land Conservancy, The Wild Center, and Paul Smith’s College is delighted to announce the start of our 4th Annual Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Sale, and the opening of applications for this year’s Community Pollinator Garden Assistance Program.

Pollinators sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce, but are facing many threats, including habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and disease. The Adirondack Pollinator Project envisions a future where pollinators thrive, native habitat abounds, and residents and visitors are engaged pollinator advocates. Both the plant sale and garden assistance program work to increase native habitat that will help rebuild the monarch butterfly population, attract hummingbirds, and strengthen native bee and moth populations.

Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Sale

Seventeen varieties of native flowering plants have been selected for the plant sale to benefit pollinators in the Adirondacks. All of the plants offered have been carefully sourced or grown from seed to ensure that they have never come in contact with neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides that are harmful to pollinators. They will be ready to plant directly in soil and many are likely to bloom during their first season.

“Last year our plant sale sold out as interest in gardening increased dramatically during the COVID pandemic” said AdkAction Executive Director Brittany Christenson. “We sold over 1,000 native plants, which were planted across the Adirondacks by people eager to create pollinator habitat in their own backyards. This year, we anticipate even greater demand, and are offering smaller plants at lower prices to make pollinator conservation more affordable and to increase the ecological impact of the sale.”

All proceeds of the sale support pollinator conservation efforts in the Adirondacks. Plants can be ordered now for $3.50 each or 3 for $10, and picked up in June at the Paul Smith’s College VIC and Minerva Beach. Additional pick-up sites may be added depending on demand. For more information, and to order plants, visit www.adkaction.org/plantsale.

Pollinator Garden Assistance Program

The Pollinator Garden Assistance Program is rolling out again in 2021 to install ten new community pollinator gardens at sites across the Adirondack region. Schools, libraries, hospitals, municipal parks, and other community sites are eligible to receive pollinator gardens. Interested sites can submit a short application at AdkAction.org/pollinators – the deadline to apply is April 1, 2021.

The Adirondack Pollinator Project is a project of AdkAction in collaboration with The Wild Center, Lake Placid Land Conservancy, and Paul Smith’s College. www.adkaction.org/pollinators

AdkAction is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to create projects that address unmet needs, promote vibrant communities, and preserve the character of the Adirondacks. Learn more at www.AdkAction.org.