#pollinator pathway

It is official. The MMA gardens on Vestal Street are now part of the Pollinator Pathway. 

As you walk by, you will see a sign on our fences at either side of the street.  It’s actually a small, metal medallion-like sign with a butterfly.  The MMA has always had pollinator gardens – it’s just now we have made it more official by joining this group.  Such gardens are pesticide and fertilizer free, have native species, and make sure to control and remove invasive species.  

Many years ago, before the habitats of the monarchs and other butterflies (and most pollinators) were severely diminished, the MMA gardens would be covered in hundreds of monarch butterflies ever year.  It was absolutely amazing.  Now, with the continued decimation of their habitats in the US and Mexico, we have fewer and fewer. If I see ten in a season it’s a banner year for monarchs on Vestal Street.

Besides supporting insects, birds and small animals with our pollinator gardens, the MMA also uses its garden areas for children’s classes, family and adult programs, and our museum animals come out for walks to snack on the clover, grasses, and other plants that they can eat.  So, fertilizer and pesticides are even more something to stay away from.

So, as you walk down Vestal Street and see the Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed, Milkweed, and other native plants, revel in the knowledge of what these plants are doing. They are supporting the pollinators – from bees to butterflies to    birds – that support our ecosystems and support life.