Becoming a Pollinator Pathway Community

this property is on the pollinator pathway

Biodiversity is critical for human health as well as vital for a healthy environment. It is at increasing risk due to development, climate challenges, pesticide use, and habitat reduction.

Andover Pollinator Pathway is working to further biodiversity in Andover by developing native pollinator gardens and encouraging residents to add native plants for pollinators to their properties. 

You can create a Pollinator Pathway in your community and keep building the connections for pollinators!

Andover, MA
Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathway, MA

Highlights

  • Bring together people from various organizations in town to build credibility and visibility

    Spread responsibilities to people in the group with specific areas of expertise or interest

    Partner with other organizations in town to increase impact and audience

    Get the web page up as soon as possible

    Build an email list and communicate with those people at least once a month

    Work on creating activities that involve children and families

    Assemble a list of volunteers to help with programming

    Create regular public meetings and/or volunteer work days to build participation

  • Completion of many activities including lecture series at the local library, several public demo plots around town, elementary school programming, high school mentoring/internships, plant sales, tables at the local Farmers Market, home visits (20 completed), newsletters (185 people on the enews mailing list), over 50 yards listed on the interactive Pollinator Pathway GIS map, creation of educational/resource materials, and presentations to local groups.

  • Trifold display $40

    Andover Days Entry Fee $175

    Printing costs (handouts and QR add-on for sign stakes) $100

    Medallion signs with stakes $15 each at cost

    Raised garden bed supports (approx. 50 sq feet) $500

    Raised garden bed plants (approx. 50 sq feet) $300 (some plants donated)

    School presentation supplies $4.00 per student

    Speaker program fees (co-sponsor of library speaker series) $100-$300 per speaker

  • Funding has been provided by a generous local garden club seed grant and from grants from other local organizations. APP is not a 501(c)(3); however one of the local garden clubs serves as its fiscal agent so donations/grants can be accepted. 

  • andoverpp@gmail.com

Steps to implement

  1. Hold an organizational meeting. Invite residents gathered from various organizations around town. We invited people from garden clubs, Conservation Commission/ Department, land trust organization, Andover Green Advisory Board, Andover Community Gardens, Andover High School science department, local public library, religious environmental groups and Select Board members.

  2. Examine a variety of pollinator non-profit groups. We decided to be affiliated with the national Pollinator Pathway and use a free webpage on its website

  3. Develop a mission statement. Our mission is promoting native plantings and healthy habitats for pollinators throughout our community.

  4. Set up your web page. Here’s ours as one example.

  5. Gather names for an email list and send monthly enews updates with news, events, and webinars. We use Mailchimp for free delivery of our enews.

  6. Investigate different ways to fund your group. APP is not a 501(c)(3); however one of the local garden clubs serves as its fiscal agent so donations/grants can be accepted.

  7. Buy some Pollinator Pathway signs in bulk from the Pollinator Pathway website. We sell the 12” sign with a stake for $15. Though individuals can also buy their own. You can also get permission to add your own group name to the signs.

  8. Research and apply for grants to fund projects

  9. Attend local community tableing events and your local farmer’s market

  10. Prepare a slideshow for presentations to interested community groups

  11. Sponsor a native plant-related program at the library

  12. Research locations and partners to set up public pollinator patches around town

  13. Participate in high school mentoring/internship programs

  14. Partner with a local nursery to bring pesticide-free native plants to the community through a plant sale. Always ask whether plants have been treated with any pesticides. Asking does two things.  It lets nursery managers know that pesticide-free matters to their customers. Also, larger nurseries often source plants from many growers and don't necessarily know what, if any, pesticides have been used on seeds, seedlings or prior to shipping

  15. Offer home garden visits and coaching

  16. Create a pollinator-themed presentation and activity for elementary classrooms. We started with a pilot program at one school with 4 presentations to 5th graders. The 2nd year we expanded to all 4th grade classrooms across Andover Public Schools.

  17. Offer support and volunteers to other community groups with overlapping missions (ex: The Seed Library, Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS), open space Playstead Garden, etc.)

Making it Great!

  • What worked well

    Bringing people together from all around town and many organizations.

    Letting people run with their ideas and focus on areas of personal interest.

    Expanding our email list by attending local events.

    Getting public demo gardens up and running.

    A great response to the in-school presentations pilot.

    Great attendance at the library’s gardening webinar series.

  • What worked less well

    Getting people to list their gardens on the national map and post a sign in their gardens. People feel intimidated by this even though the criteria for registering on the map is self-reported.

    We discovered that using “Pollinator Patch” instead of “Pollinator Garden” is less intimidating. We are working on ways to make everyone feel like they can participate, from a first-time home-owner to an experienced gardener.

  • Advice

    Gather your group and assess the skills and interests of the people present. Assign specific tasks and encourage your members to lead and run with their responsibilities. Partner with other groups in town to help make the most of collective resources. Enjoy the new connections and friendships you will make!

Additional Resources

  • Slides used with 5th graders

    Download a pdf of slides used in 5th grade classrooms complete with speaker notes!

  • Native Plant Kit flyer

    The layout APP used to describe the native plant kits for sale.

  • Flyer to Spread the Word