What is a Polinator Pathway?
"The project, which emerged from the Hudson to Housatonic (H2H) Regional Conservation Partnership, works with landowners to create pesticide-free passageways and native-planted habitats from the Housatonic River to the Hudson River. These help pollinators—bees, butterflies, other insects and hummingbirds—thrive. ... It was inspired by the efforts and research of Sarah Bergmann in Seattle, WA,” says Donna Merrill, the co-founder of the local Pollinator Pathway and executive director of the Wilton Land Conservation Trust. In collaboration with over 50 land trust and conservation groups in the H2H network, Pollinator Pathway is a story of communities banding together. Why is this crucial? More than 30 percent of our food grows due to pollinators’ work. Pollinator populations—most notably bees and monarch butterflies—have recently declined due to pesticide use and habitat loss.
And yet there’s hope. According to monarchjointventure.org, this year the eastern monarch butterfly population is expected to be 144 percent larger than last year and higher than it’s been in over a decade. “We can thank the dedication of municipalities, local farmers and gardeners, and initiatives like Pollinator Pathway for contributing to increasing numbers of monarchs,” says Kara H. Whelan, vice president of the Westchester Land Trust."
Judy Koutsky- Serendipity
“The pollinator pathway program serves as a good reminder of how connected we all are and demonstrates the tremendous impact we can have if we join together for a common cause,” says Kara Whelan, Vice President of Westchester Land Trust. “Westchester Land Trust has worked with many towns from conceptualizing pathway routes to assisting landowners on the pathway who want to learn about protecting their land.” westchesterlandtrust.org