Hello All, welcome to another Tompkins Pollinator Pathway newsletter! With summer in full swing, we are dedicating this month’s newsletter to native milkweeds! Click on the post to continue reading!

Hello All, As summer quickly approaches, many flowers are in full bloom and pollinators are buzzing about! We are dedicating this month’s newsletter to one type of pollinator: the bumblebee! What’s the Buzz About Bumblebees? Bumblebees are one of the most ubiquitous sights in many gardens and natural habitats throughout the spring and summer months, but many of their behaviors and abilities, detailed below, are unique among pollinators. Click on the post to continue reading!

Hello All,  As spring plants bloom, birds chatter, and bugs buzz, we wanted to dedicate this month’s newsletter to important plants and pollinators in our area.  Plant of the Month: Mayapple  Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) is one of the most easily identifiable spring plants, distinguished by umbrella-like leaves and single white flower hidden underneath. Click on the post to continue reading!

Greetings, We hope everyone enjoyed the unique solar eclipse that occurred so fortunately close to home. It is incredible to learn how other species are affected during solar eclipses: flowers closing their blooms, bees pausing their foraging, and insects who are active during night time beginning to chatter. “Spring Cleaning” in the Garden With these warm days upon us, it’s easy to get overzealous and begin the age-old tradition of “Spring Cleaning.” We encourage everyone to do that cleaning inside the house, while leaving the outside of the house a little messier! Many native pollinators overwinter in our area, including various species of bees – and even butterflies! While species like carpenter bees and bumblebees may start to emerge in early April, other species such as sweat bees won’t come out from their winter hibernation until May. Others, like queen bumblebees, spend time in leaf litter while they wake up, feed, and begin looking for appropriate places to establish their rearing of broods. Waiting for the risk of frost to pass (mid-May) before you begin tidying up your garden helps protect these species from harsh weather and gives them the time they need to get adjusted to their habitat. Click on the post to continue reading!

Hello all, Welcome back to the Tompkins Pollinator Pathway monthly newsletter! Like the pollinators, we took some time to rest this winter, but are happy to be back in action as spring is starting to appear in the area. Given that spring seems to be right around the corner, we wanted to dedicate this newsletter to spring ephemerals and ways in which you can protect native pollinators during the seasonal transition. Click on the post to continue reading!

Greetings!   We at the Tompkins County Pollinator Pathway are delighted to be seeing the marks of autumn around us! The temperatures are dropping, the trees are letting go of their colorful leaves, and pollinators are collecting their final meals from the remaining blooms. All these signs mark a crucial time for people to assist pollinators. Click on the post to continue reading!

On September 29th, the Tompkins Pollinator Pathway celebrated its end of season event at Grow Wild Native Plant Nursery in Brooktondale, NY. We welcomed over 60 attendees in exploring the nursery's dozens of acres of active ecological restoration projects and pollinator gardens. Folks were given a chance of one of two tour that explored the restoration work in the meadow and in the wetland, respectively, led by nursery owner Deanna English. They learned about successional species, time to re-seed, mowing methods, and where to source seeds. People also had the chance to cut a bouquet of native plants together and then explore unique details of the plants. Nearer the nursery, the Tompkins Pollinator Pathway, including Kate Dickin & Brandon Hoak, tabled gathering new folks to be included on our listserv, while providing handouts and resources. Food and drinks were served, each dish emphasizing a different food that was created as a byproduct of pollination. Additionally, 20 native plants for the nursery were given away as a thank you to early-arriving attendees.  

Greetings!    In many previous newsletters, we have explored topics surrounding pollinators – ecological gardening practices, native plant species, and terms such as ‘host plants,’ but in this edition we look to the pollinators themselves in all their many forms! Click on the post to continue reading!

Hello All,   Welcome to another Tompkins Pollinator Pathway newsletter.  Thank you to everyone who attended our Marshy Garden event during Pollinator Week! It was a huge success with over 100 attendees and 25 native plants making their ways to new homes around the county. We are very appreciative of your support and encourage you to keep sharing the word with other folks around town. If you are interested in keeping up to date on Marshy Garden please reach out to Brandon Hoak at bbh43@cornell.edu   We are also very appreciative of all the rain we have been receiving! This is wonderfully rejuvenating for many plants that had a slow start at the beginning of the season as they suffered from weeks without rain. This prolonged period of reduced rainfall, or drought, tends to reduce leafing, blooming, and fruiting. Not only does this greatly affect pollinators who rely on this source of sustenance, it impacts human food systems by reducing production of fruits, vegetables, and grains. This is just another important reason to plant native plants that not only support pollinators’ needs, but also are more adapted to this climate and can tolerate drought. Click on the post to continue reading!

On June 23rd the Tompkins Pollinator Pathway cohosted an event with the Marshy Garden at the Soil Factory. In addition, the Town of Ithaca Conservation Board helped sponsor this event by providing free native plant species from Grow Wild Native Nursery for the first 25 attendees. The event saw over 100 folks who were able to experience the Marshy Garden through hourly tours. The tours introduced folks to significant features of the site that assist local pollinators. The notable features that were introduced are as follows: Hundreds of native plants grown from local seeds (donated by the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society or purchased from local nurseries - Grow Wild and The Plantsmen). A Brush Pile constructed of fallen limbs from local trees to foster habitat and feeding areas for all species, but specifically bird and moth populations. Removal of non-native species such as Phragmites, Creeping Jenny, and Smartweed, while highlighting native volunteer species such as American Groundnut, Common Boneset, Hemp Dogbane, Blue Lobelia, and White Vervain. Emphasis on non-electric mechanical methods of maintenance such as push mower, scythe, and hedge-trimmers, in lieu of using other tools that require fossil fuel inputs or batteries. Adjusting planting to topography, versus the other way around. We discussed the value of clay soil and its ability to retain moisture and support unique marshland species Recognizing the historical mistreatment of the land through clearcutting, occupation of monoculture agriculture, impromptu debris and waste site, and final resting place as a lawn prior Marshy Garden's establishment. We also acknowledging that the land prior to all of that was originally tended to by Indigenous folks who have an ongoing relationship to area's marshes and that by restoring the area we hope to honor these people and invite them into the space.