The town of Pittsford is inviting residents to make their yards pollinator friendly. A program began this week called the Pittsford Pollinator Pathway Challenge, and the goal is to help create a pathway for insects and wildlife by encouraging town residents to plant native trees, shrubs and perennials.
The program was created in collaboration with volunteers from the organization, Color Pittsford Green.
Pittsford residents interested in this program can go to the town’s website to download a registration form listing a variety of vegetation homeowners may want to plant.
It describes trees, shrubs and other vegetation that would help create a healthy habitat and and food source for butterflies, moths, bees and other pollinating insects and wildlife.
Town Supervisor Bill Smith says this program is in line with Pittsford’s effort to support environmentally healthy programs.
“So what we have tried to do, is to set up a program where we can create pollinator corridors across the town, so that these species that help keep the environment healthy will have a more sustainable shot at life around the town,” said Smith.
Smith said Pittsford’s pollinator program is line with other environmental efforts by the town, and is also “a logical follow-on of our organic toxic-free yard program where people agree to forego the use of synthetic chemicals on their lawns.”
Megan Meyer is a Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension. She said that putting in these native trees and other plants in your yard is not only good for the environment, it can also be aesthetically very pleasing.
“It's been proven that some of these native plants are way more resilient than the non-natives that we've been using in our yards,” and Meyer also said it’s important to try to avoid the negative effect gas powered lawn equipment, such as leaf blowers, which she said puts a lot of carbon into the air.
Meyer said that putting more sustainable, native plants in your yard will help preserve the ecosystem, especially at a time when insects and birds have been on a steep decline.
“We’re all interconnected, those insects pollinate 80% of our food crops, it goes right up the food chain,” said Meyer. “Because we have less insects, we have fewer birds, and you can see that going all the way up, and it affects us.”
Donna Merrill is Director of the Pollinator Pathway National Organization, which got its start in Wilton, CT., where she is based and helped found a regional organization to link pollinator pathways, and which later grew to be a national organization.
She said the Pollinator Pathway Program is now in 19 states, and it’s growing quickly. Merrill said that creating a more pollinator-friendly yard is something just about anyone can do and she said in terms of trying to address the issues surrounding climate change, “this is really making a difference,” noting that “things happen from the bottom up, and we have to act as individuals.”
Other local towns are also involved in efforts to promote planting native and sustainable yards and there is also more information about these types of programs on the website for Healthy Yards Monroe County.
