North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and the Town Board are excited to proclaim June 17 to June 23 as Pollinator Week.
Pollinator Week 2024 is a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture.
The annual event initiated by the Pollinator Partnership calls for an appreciation of these essential creatures, including bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, flies, and hummingbirds, that are the unsung heroes behind the food we enjoy and the beauty that surrounds us.
This year the town once again took National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge to commit to actions that conserve local pollinator species through public outreach, creation and maintenance of pollinator habitat, and community science initiatives.
To increase native habitat for pollinators the pollinator garden at Clark Botanic Garden was completely renovated with the installation of all native plants.
Native pollinators and wildlife have evolved with native plants that provide the food, shelter, and other resources they need to survive and thrive. Natives planted include boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), New York aster (Aster novi-belgii) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which is a host plant for the monarch butterfly.
The town is also adding habitat throughout the entire community with the Native Plant Residential Rebate program, in which residents receive a rebate of up to $350 for planting native plants in their home landscape.
The program has been extremely popular this year, with funds already exhausted and over 30 applications approved.
To help with outreach, the town offers a pollinator pledge, which allows any property owner who maintains a landscape to commit to practices that benefit pollinators and the surrounding ecosystem.
This includes reducing or eliminating pesticide use, planting native plants, and managing invasive species.
The town also has a “Meet Our Pollinators” slideshow with photos of a variety of different bees, butterflies, flies, moths, and other pollinators that were taken in Town pollinator gardens to show the diversity of these important species that can be found right in our own parks and yards.
To view the Pollinator Week Proclamation, take the Pollinator Pledge, and learn more about how you can help pollinators visit NorthHempsteadNY.gov/Sustainability.
