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Gardens and Pledge Help Pollinators in North Hempstead


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2021
MEDIA CONTACTS: Gordon Tepper, Rebecca Cheng and Michael Anderson | (516) 869-7794

Gardens and Pledge Help Pollinators in North Hempstead 

North Hempstead, NY – Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the Town Board are proud to announce that North Hempstead is continuing to support pollinator health by creating habitats for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The Town recently unveiled new pollinator gardens at Martin “Bunky” Reid Park in New Cassel, Fuschillo Park in Carle Place, and Tully Park in New Hyde Park. These gardens provide a beautiful aesthetic for park visitors as well as important resources for native pollinators like butterflies, bees, hover flies, and beetles.

“Supporting pollinators has been an important priority for me as the Town has looked for new and innovative ways to promote sustainable and resilient local ecosystems,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “Though these creatures are small in stature, they are immensely vital to our environment. The Town will continue to do all that it can to support pollinators and their habitats.”

The Town planted the new gardens in the spring and autumn. They included butterfly weed, which is a host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars and an important nectar source for a variety of other pollinators. Additional native flowers, shrubs, trees, and grasses were planted such as rough goldenrod, joe-pye weed, blazing star, tulip tree, ninebark, and viburnum. These produce nectar and pollen for pollinators as well as fruits and seeds for birds and other wildlife. The planting of these gardens also fulfills requirements of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, which the Town has taken each year since 2018 to aid the declining monarch population.

This summer the Town also released the Pollinator Pledge calling for property owners to commit to taking actions to help pollinators in their landscape. Anyone that owns property (residents, businesses, non-profits, schools, places of worship etc.) can take the pledge. It contains a variety of actions including planting native plants, reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides, managing invasive species, and participating in community science projects. Many residents and non-profit organizations have already taken the pledge and we encourage all Town property owners to do so as well.

For additional information on the Town’s pollinator gardens and to take the Town’s Pollinator Pledge, visit: northhempsteadny.gov/sustainability.






 

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