Madison Public Schools Pollinator Habitat

Planted July 2022

My Rutgers Environmental Stewards project with biologist, educator, and fellow Environmental Steward Joan Maccari is a passion project, and a powerful example of community collaboration. We’ve been working with our town's public school leadership, its director of facilities and groundskeeping, and 70+ volunteers (to date) to plant and care for a natural array of native plants at the new Madison Public Schools (MPS) Pollinator Habitat (359 Woodland Rd, Madison, NJ). The plants—600 plugs of 11 different species suited to the site’s dry, sunny conditions—were generously awarded by Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and their program partner, Pinelands Nursery and Supply. They are all genetically diverse “wild type” straight species (not cultivars, which are propagated by cloning).

Each native plant was chosen to support the pollinators they co-evolved with—including butterflies, moths, native bees, and other essential insects. The plants provide vital food and habitat for birds and other wildlife, too. No pesticides are used, and other Earth-friendly practices include leaving fallen leaves in place year-round (no leaf blowing!); allowing dead plant stems and seed heads to remain up all winter to feed birds; and carefully trimming stems back in the spring to create habitat for stem-nesting bees.

Read more in the Madison Eagle.

The Plants