Turning the Page for Pollinators: Blogging for Pollinators

Breaking Ground: Our First Volunteer Planting Day!

Today we held our project kick-off planting event! Volunteers from our staff, Board of Trustees, and membership came out with their gloves and shovels and we got our hands dirty for pollinators! Here's some snapshots of the day's events and some explanations of the work at hand; keep an eye on our Events page for upcoming planting sessions!

Our volunteers got the red carpet treatment. Signage, snacks, and sunscreen!

We started the morning with a short debrief on the day's plan: planting new shrubs and relocating existing plants!

We prepared the workstation in advance to get the most of our volunteer time. 

The first step was to free the new shrubs—Elderberries—from their planters.

We gently removed the mulch and soil the new plants came with and sequestered this material in a pail for later disposal off-site.

This first step mitigates the concern that we would inadvertently introduce jumping worms or other soil-lurking baddies from the outside mulch into our own site.

Once cleaned, we soaked the shrub roots in water to remove the remaining fine grit and any other hiding organisms.

While giving the roots time to soak, we prepared the spots for these shrubs to be planted.

With our fresh Elderberry plants settled in their beds, we turned our attention to the relocation of several day lilies currently growing near the road.

We started by digging the lilies up from their current locations, to assess the root structure size and plan their destinations.

Then we staked out their new home, closer to our building in a bare patch adjacent to some more lilies.

We worked in teams to excavate the wide, shallow planting spots that these lilies prefer.

They seem much happier here with their friends!

Sincere thanks to our volunteers, who made this first planting event a success and went home with wildflower seed packets, day lily clippings, and mint plants also from our growing yard!