“The recent Empire State Pollinator Survey estimates that at least 38% of NY native pollinators are threatened, and possibly as many as 60%.”
WHAT IS THE PHILMONT POLLINATOR PATHWAY?
The Philmont Pollinator Pathway is a corridor of nearby native gardens. These native plantings provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for local pollinators to move between and add beauty to our Village landscape.
Why does habitat matter? Our ecosystems and agriculture depend on native pollinators. Unfortunately, native pollinators face mounting threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticides, disease, and climate change. The recent Empire State Pollinator Survey estimates that 38% to 60% of NY native pollinators are threatened.
Visit the corridor’s public gardens at Summit Lake, the Village Office, the Nancy Brusseau Pocket Park, the Library, and Memorial Field.
View photos here.
WHY NATIVE PLANTS?
Native pollinators and native plants evolved together and work as pollination systems. Pollinators do visit and benefit from other plants, but many require particular native plants for nesting and larval development. Native plants easily flourish because they are adapted to our climate, soil, and wildlife and often require less water than other garden plants.
JOIN THE PATHWAY
There are many ways you can contribute to pollinator conservation:
In Your Yard: You can take steps to make your own yard pollinator friendly by adding native plants and avoiding pesticide use. If you rent, ask your landlord to add native plants to the landscaping, or plant a container garden. Free native plants and seeds are often available at the Library. When purchasing (any) plants from a garden nursery, ensure that they were grown free of systemic pesticides which make the entire plant, including its nectar and pollen, toxic to invertebrates.
In Village Gardens: We always need volunteers to help. Contact us to sign up!
RESOURCES
Pollinator Action Guide: Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley has created a comprehensive resource on pollinator conservation tailored to our bioregion. Access the Pollinator Action Guide here!
Sourcing Native Plants: There are many places to source native plants. Plants for this project were purchased locally from Arthur’s Point Farm (Ghent, NY), Flower Power (Red Hook, NY), and Catskill Native Nursery (Kerhonkson, NY). Seeds were donated by Hawthorne Valley’s Farmscape Ecology Program and are available for free at the Library. Additional plants were sourced from Prairie Nursery and Prairie Moon Nursery.