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REGIONAL GARDEN TOURS. Tour beautiful pollinator-friendly native plant gardens during National Pollinator Month. To learn about Pollinator Pathway tour/visitation dates, activities, and more visit the Pollinator Pathway website. Look for a convenient dropdown filter to select garden by town.
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STAMFORD OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION. Also in celebration of National Pollinator Month we will join Stamford Land Conservation Trust to help with their ambitious project to transform an area formerly overrun with invasive weeds into a wildflower meadow. Saturday, June 24, 10am, Woods End Preserve, between 65 and 99 Woods End Road, Stamford. All are welcome to help pull invasive weeds and plant native flowers. Some gloves and trowels will be provided, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own, and a beverage.
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VOLUNTEER DATES
Help Pollinator Gardens Grow
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Plants are blooming and the pollinators are in flight at Kosciuszko, Chestnut Hill and Cove Island Parks thanks to the hard work of Pollinator Pathway Stamford, numerous volunteers and the City of Stamford. Come spend a couple of hours with us on one of these dates and spot the pollinators!
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Kosciuszko Park. Saturday, June 10, 10:00 am-12 noon. Help plant more native plants and weed the gardens. Tools and gloves provided.
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Chestnut Hill Park. Saturday, June 17. 9:00-11:00am. Weeding, laying stones around trees to act as wells. Tools and gloves provided.
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Cove Island Pollinator Garden. Friday mornings from 9-11am. Garden by the playground. Interested in helping to volunteer at the garden? We typically meet on Friday mornings. Email Melanie Hollas at PollinatorPathwayStamford@gmail.com for more information and confirmation on time.
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URGENT ACTION REQUESTED BEFORE JUNE 6, 2023
Regarding SB 963 An Act Concerning Neonicotinoids for Nonagricultural Use
Please email Senator Rick Lopes ( Rick.Lopes@cga.ct.gov), chair of the CT Environment Committee, asking to call SB 963 for a vote with NO amendments using the language from the public hearing which had bi-partisan support. Neonicitinoids are harming bees and other pollinators. |
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LET'S TALK ABOUT LAWNS
How to Transform an
Ecological Deadzone
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Did you know the U.S. has 40 million acres of lawns? Lawns are the largest irrigated agricultural "crop" in the U.S., using 90 billion gallons of water a day, according to the EPA. Homeowners typically use 10 times the amount of pesticides and fertilizers per acre than farmers do on crops. Lawns provide little to no habitat to pollinators and their root systems are too shallow to effectively filter stormwater runoff.
Rethink your lawn by shrinking the turf grass area and planting native plants instead. Tips for the lawn you retain:
- MOW LESS FREQUENTLY. The shorter grass is mowed, the shallower the root system. Mowing shocks the plant to put its energy into growing new leaves rather than roots. Water loss occurs every time you mow the plant. That is why grass should be kept higher in the summer.
- RETURN YOUR GRASS CLIPPINGS TO THE LAWN. Free fertilizer!
- AVOID MOWING when grass is wet and in extreme heat.
- CHANGE DIRECTION of mowing and make sure your blade is sharp.
- WATER DEEPLY AND INFREQUENTLY between 4:30am and 10am. You want the water to penetrate up to 8 inches deep.
- LEAVE THE CLOVER. It fixes nitrogen in the soil.
- GOT GRUBS? Try to identify the type of grub you have to determine the effective treatment. The best time to apply a safe preventative treatment is between June 15 and July 15.
- AVOID INSECTICIDES AND HERBICIDES.
- RETHINK YOUR LAWN.
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NON-NATIVE INVASIVE SPECIES
Everything is not coming up roses
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Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) was brought to this country from Asia as hardy rootstock for rosebushes and later to help with soil erosion. Fast forward a few hundred years and this happy invasive plant has spread across open spaces, like pastures and edges of woods, forming dense thickets that crowd out native plants and shrubs and inhibit regeneration of trees. Learn how to identify Multiflora rose and watch a helpful video from UMass Amherst on this non-native invasive species.
Removing Multiflora rose can require multiple approaches. Learn about various management options at UCONN Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG.) Native alternatives: Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), Winterberry holly ((Ilex verticillata), Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), or American hazelnut (Corylus americana). Mistaken Identity? Find invasive species and their native look alike from NY Botanical Garden.
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Help Plant a Tree
Thank you to all residents and high school students that advocated for the additional funding for trees. Your voices were heard and the funding has been kept in the budget! Would you like to learn how to plant a tree, adopt a tree, or become a volunteer? Do you want to become involved in our Tree Group? Email us. We coordinate with the City and Stamford Downtown. |
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BEE CONNECTED
Join Pollinator Pathway Stamford and add your property to the map.
Take the pledge to help bees and other pollinators.
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