This summer, AdkAction’s Mobile Pollinator Garden Trailer (also affectionately known as the Pollinator-Mobile) will rove the Adirondacks, planting community pollinator gardens and leaving blooms, bees, and butterflies in its wake. Eleven new garden sites in and around the Adirondacks have been chosen to receive gardens as part of our hands-on pollinator conservation efforts.

What is a pollinator garden?

A pollinator garden is one planted mostly with flowers that provide nectar or pollen for a broad range of pollinating insects. Native flowering plants are best, and pesticides and other chemicals are avoided. These habitats can be beautiful and they attract birds and other wildlife in addition to pollinators. This year’s pollinator gardens will include bee balm, milkweed, white turtlehead, mountain mint, phlox, and other pollinator-friendly pesticide-free native plants.

Where will this year’s gardens be planted?

Schools, libraries, hospitals, municipal parks, and other community sites were invited to apply through our Garden Assistance Program. After reviewing a record number of applications, the Adirondack Pollinator Project selected the following sites to receive gardens this summer:

• View Art Center, Old Forge
• Town of Franklin Public Park
• St. Bernard’s Elementary School, Saranac Lake
• Saranac Lake Triangle Park, managed by Saranac Lake Village Improvement Society
• SUNY Adirondack College Farm, Queensbury
• Mountain Lake PBS, Plattsburgh
• Upper Saranac Lake Northern Public Boat Launch, managed by Upper Saranac Foundation
• Urban Green Space Vacant Lot on Woodruff Street, Saranac Lake
• Public Park Community Garden, Glens Falls
• Camp Aldersgate, Brantingham
• Elizabethtown (site to be determined)

Our eleventh pollinator garden is generously funded by Olivia and Victoria, two young pollinator advocates who donated the proceeds of their annual lemonade stand for the past two summers to the Adirondack Pollinator Project. AdkAction will be planting a pollinator garden in Elizabethtown named after both Olivia and Victoria, and will be working with them to choose the location. Their donation will directly support the materials needed for the garden.

Many more students across the region, from Pre-K through College, will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on learning through the Pollinator Garden Assistance Program, with several of the school, camp, and park locations planning to use their new pollinator gardens for educational purposes.

“Our students will be able to blend their classroom learning with the experiential learning experience of tending and monitoring a pollinator garden,” said St. Bernard’s School Principal Andrea Kilbourne-Hill. “We are grateful to AdkAction for the opportunity to provide an enriching educational experience while helping to become better stewards of our world.”

“Mountain Lake PBS is excited to host a family engagement event during the garden installation for children of all ages, connecting the pollinator garden with ecological stewardship and STEAM learning” said Education Coordinator Logan Brody. “Children will have the opportunity to plant a pollinator plant and will receive fun, educational resources and take-home activities.”

This year’s gardens will join 15 sites across the region where the Adirondack Pollinator Project installed community gardens in 2018 and 2019. No gardens were installed in 2020 as the Pollinator Project postponed all volunteer activities due to the pandemic. You can see all existing garden sites at this virtual tour.

The Adirondack Pollinator Project is a project of AdkAction in collaboration with The Wild Center, Lake Placid Land Conservancy, and Paul Smith’s College. The Mobile Pollinator Garden Trailer is made possible by a generous grant from Flow Hive. 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.