Saving pollinator habitats one backyard at a time

Pollinator Pathway, a country-wide nonprofit organization advocating for pollinators, is connecting habitats one backyard at a time. Right here in Rhode Island, the Warwick Wildlife and Conservation Commission is trying to bring pollinator pathways to the city.

What is a pollinator pathway?

A pollinator pathway is a wildlife corridor that links two or more fragmented habitats together. For pollinator species – such as bees, butterflies and some bird species – these include healthy yards with native species and public green spaces.

Pollinators are keystone species that are essential to the food chain, moving pollen from one plant to another, enabling cross fertilization and the growth of new plants. However, bees can only travel a short radius from their hives without a continuous path of food. Honeybees can travel 1,500 feet from their hives, but for native bees, it is only 600 feet.

The first pollinator pathway, which was created by Seattle artist Sarah Bergmann, connected pollinator-friendly habitats from Seattle University's campus to Nora's Woods, a small native plant garden.

Since then, the project has taken off. “It’s becoming huge all around the world, not just in the United States,” says Anne Holst, chair of the Warwick Wildlife and Conservation Commission. Holst has been chair of the Commission for 13 years and has become involved with promoting pollinators over the past three years.

Pollinator species are threatened by several phenomena such as the widespread use of pesticides, landscaped planting and industrial agriculture. As more natural environments fall victim to urban and suburbanization, the area of eligible habitat shrinks.

What is the City of Warwick doing?

Warwick’s Wildlife and Conservation Commission, led by Holst, is trying to establish pollinator pathways in several locations across the city: Toll Gate High School, Brayton Cemetery on Post Road in Apponaug and City Park in Buttonwoods.

“We would love to get one that goes through the whole city,” Holst says about where she sees this project going.

Holst supports the movement to stop mowing the sides and median strips of the Interstate highways because those areas are otherwise unused and could have native plants that provide pollinators with food and nectar. Not to mention they’re beautiful in bloom.

“Once the wildflowers are established, you don’t have to mow, so it’s less work for the city,” she said. “The Veterans Memorial Drive medians are screaming for wildflowers.”

However, the work of creating pollinator pathways can start in individual homes and backyards. Holst cites lack of education as the main barrier to the project. To address this, the Commission hosts a series of pollinator lectures at the Warwick Public Library throughout the year.

Amy Ottilige, a member of the Warwick Wildlife and Conservation Commission, has been raising butterflies in her backyard since 2014 and recently completed her Pollinator Steward certification. She has made several videos and pamphlets to educate the public about the importance of pollinators.

Last year, the Commission hosted a pollinator workshop at the Clouds Hill Museum in Cowesett in September, consisting of keynote speakers and a seed exchange. The seed packets are wildflower mixes that will create pollinator-friendly habitats. Holst says that the Commission plans to continue the event this September, making it an annual event.

What can you do in your backyard?

According to Holst, the source of the pollinator habitat loss is that “people want to have their lawns manicured.” The solution is transforming them into “bee lawns.”

Native bees are the primary pollinators in Rhode Island, and those bees are solitary ground nesters. “Every time you mow, you’re cutting on space where can get food,” said Holst. “It’s a recommendation to people that instead of having a sterile lawn situation, plant your lawns with low-flowering plants.”

There are several measures that can be taken on one’s own property to cultivate a pollinator-friendly “bee lawn.” One of which is to plant native species, and to remove invasive species that will outcompete them. Native plants will best attract pollinators because they will recognize them, and in turn provide food and shelter.

“Our native insects grew up with our native plants, and that’s what they’re used to,” says Holst. “Restore native plants so that our native insects will go to them.”

Some plants native to New England include herbaceous summer-blooming perennials such as milkweed and Black-eyed Susan, grasses such as switchgrass and woody shrubs such as hydrangeas, dogwood and witch hazel. A list of common native plants for New England can be found on Pollinator Pathway’s website, https://www.pollinator-pathway.org.

There are also ways to rethink the layout and usage of suburban yards. Think about how much of your lawn is actively used, and how much could be left to grow naturally. Consider creating an area for wildflowers, or letting the dandelions and clover grow rather than mowing them down.

Ottilige stresses that pollinator pathways do not need to be an intense, time-consuming or expensive operation. Rather, it can be as small as a window box with native perennials. “Do what you feel you can afford, and then you can add to it,” she says. 

Stop mowing the lawn every week and allow it to grow taller for two or three weeks between mows. Leaving some patches of dirt without grass or other plants provides habitat for native ground nesting bees. Create mowing schedules around the life cycles of the plants, because wildflowers are not only beautiful in bloom, but also have an integral ecological function.

“It’s beautiful, so let it bloom,” says Holst. “If you want to mow it later, that’s fine. But let it bloom.”

Ottilige is more than willing to help those in the community get started with their pollinator-friendly gardens. “If someone says, ‘can you help me,’ I’m there,” she says. “You can either do as much or as little as you want, and you’ll have a pollinator pathway.”

Contact Amy Ottilige for more information about getting started with a pollinator garden through her email, amyott2@gmail.com.