Planting for Pollinators at the Gardiner Library

Hi, my name is Angela. I’m raising funds for the Gardiner Library Pollinator Garden.

The Wallkill Valley Pollinator Pathway has teamed up with the Gardiner Library to create a pollinator garden behind the library, next to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. This garden will provide valuable habitat for pollinators in the neighborhood and along the rail trail wildlife corridor. It will also educate library patrons, rail trail visitors, and the community about the importance of pollinator habitat. We have volunteers ready to plant the garden. Now we need funds to pay for the plants.

Step one of the project was completed in November when a group of volunteers stapled a reusable plastic tarp on the lawn to prepare a 500 square-foot area. This May, after the tarp is removed, volunteers will plant over 500 native perennial seedlings into the new garden plot.

Once the plants establish and begin to flower, the pollinator garden will start to attract butterflies and bees, moths and beetles. Over the winter months, the dead leaves and dried plant stalks will be left to provide a home to overwintering pollinators. The winter garden will also attract birds foraging for seeds and insects. Visitors to the library and along the rail trail can enjoy a seasonal display of flowering plants—from the earliest wildflowers of April to the asters of November.

All funds raised will be used to pay for plants and planting materials.