The RePollinate Anne Arundel Project (a.k.a., Pollinator Pathways) has two main objectives: restore native ecosystems and educate and promote the use of native plants. Members of the Crofton Village Garden Club (CVGC), along with Pollinator Pathway Project Chair Lauren Toomey, helped to conserve and grow local pollinator populations by aiding in the propagation and distribution of 4,700 native seedlings in 2023 to various communities throughout the county. These perennials and shrubs were provided to recipients to increase biodiversity, support pollinators, and control erosion, pollution and stormwater runoff. Additionally, a total of 2,700 plants were propagated and handed out to the Anne Arundel Community in 2022. Some of these plants were planted at Swann Park by members of the CVGC and community volunteers.
The bulk of CVGC’s collaborative work occurred at the University of Maryland Extension Master Gardeners Dairy Farm location in Gambrills. The CVGC donated a total of 159 hours over 5 days, and transplanted 2,500 seedlings from flats to 6" pots. The wide-ranging comprehensiveness of this initiative is evident in the fact that the work of the CVGC for the Pollinator Pathway project touches the entire county, as shown in the attached map. This project is improving the broad brushstroke of the Eastern Seaboard as it positively affects the Pollinator Pathways Corridor. Front Row: Camille DeVito, Nancy Percivall and Gail Schulz Back Row: Littany Hollerbach, Cindy Hansen, Margo Antonelli, Rosa Johnson and Pat Stevenson Led by Project Chair Gail Schulz, members Margo Antonelli, Camille DeVito, Cindy Hansen, Littany Hollerbach, Rosa Johnson, Nancy Percivall and Pat Stevenson attend the fall clean-up of the Pollinator Garden at Crofton Library.
The Pollinator Garden is a "stepping stone" on the Anne Arundel County Pollinator Pathway. Led by Lauren Toomey, our Anne Arundel County Pollinator Pathway Project Chair, members Trish Demers and her husband David, Paulette and Paul Heward, Littany Hollerbach, Sally Moore, Kathy Puhak, Marcia Richard, Sandy Robertson, Diane Smith, and Diane Stovel met at the Bee Lab in Gambrills to help the RePollinate Anne Arundel team plant 800 seedlings.
RePollinate Anne Arundel is a collaborative engagement between the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy and the University of Maryland Extension Master Gardeners and accomplishes many restoration and ecological goals. For more information on RePollinate Anne Arundel, click the button below. Led by Project Chair Gail Schulz, members Margo Antonelli, Trish Demers, Rosa Johnson and Nancy Percivall and incoming members Laura Austin and Jessica Kruse weed the Pollinator Garden at Crofton Library.
The iris have started to bloom and the blue false indigo and peony are covered in buds. The garden has a variety of native plants that bloom from spring, throughout the summer, and into the fall, providing nectar and pollen essential for a flourishing pollinator population. The Pollinator Garden is a "stepping stone" on the Anne Arundel County Pollinator Pathway. Led by Project Chair Lauren Toomey, members volunteered in the Pollinator Pathway booth located in the Agricultural Building at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium. Two handouts were given out: Recommended Information to Establish an Effective Native Pollinator Habitat and Essential Pollinator Habitat Garden Instructions by Elmer Dengler.
CVGC's project for 2021-2023 is the Anne Arundel County Pollinator Pathway. The Pollinator Pathway is corridors of public and private properties that provide pesticide-free native plant habitat and nutrition for pollinators. We can reconnect our landscape by making our properties stepping stones for the free flow of species across a healthy, native landscape. The mission is to impactfully elevate environmental stewardship of Anne Arundel County citizens through engagement of households, communities, HOA's, coalitions, local and state government, and unique public-private partnerships. The goal is to create sustainable landscapes, not only throughout Anne Arundel County but Maryland as a whole, that promote climate resilient projects, deliver actionable outcomes of reduced pollution and restored waterways, and bring nature back into our daily lives by focusing on actions people can take right outside their door. Maintaining environmentally-sound gardens and yards by using sustainable gardening practices improves water quality, conserves natural resources for future generations, reduces maintenance, and saves money. While individual efforts may seem small, they all add up to make a big difference in improving the health of our local waterways, the Chesapeake Bay, our personal well-being, and the environment. Most Maryland residents live within a half-mile of a drainage ditch, storm drain, stream or river. These local waterways eventually drain into the Chesapeake Bay. The misuse of pesticides and fertilizers, lack of soil management, and poor plant selection can all contribute to the degradation of Maryland’s streams, rivers, and the Bay. By embracing the change of a few simple landscape practices, together we can keep Maryland communities and pollinators healthy. |
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