Copper Falls State Park Pollinator Gardens
Walk through the pollinator gardens located at the park's office (on the hill); Meadow trail (first loop); and near the ballpark. Check out what insects and wildlife are using these plants.
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Help support this magnificent park as a Friends member.
Photo by Mary Jo Gingras
Photo by Mary Jo Gingras
Pollinator gardens are designed to attract and support pollinators. They are intended to help cover food shortages for these insects and wildlife species. The goal of this worldwide effort is to provide sufficient food (nectar and pollen) to reverse the decline of pollinators, bees in particular, and to provide habitat (milkweed) for monarchs and other butterflies. Bees are the most important pollinators for many plants, but wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, & hummingbirds are all pollinators! Approximately 75% of the world’s food crops require pollination. Here in the park, we are trying to do our part locally to enhance habitat for these sensitive species.
Photo by Mary Jo Gingras
Photo by Mary Jo Gingras
In 2023, Friends of Copper Falls State Park expanded an existing pollinator garden and added a few more garden areas in the park. To prepare the garden site, we used a cultivator to expose mineral soil since we could not use prescribed burning at this time. Using local, native seed we broadcast in the fall and winter so the seeds could stratify, a requirement of some of these plant species. We will continue to maintain these sites through mowing until we have a prescribed burn plan in place and broadcast more native seed for further maintenance. Since it takes a while to establish the pollinator gardens, one thing to remember is the adage” first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap”. Patience is important when establishing native pollinator gardens.
Photo by Mike Trieschmann
Here is a short list of plants that we sowed – there may be others added to this list. Plants that we seeded include: big and little bluestem; black eyed Susan; butterfly weed; common milkweed; compass plant; fireweed; indian grass; lance leaved coreopsis; ox-eyed sunflower; pearly everlasting; poverty oatgrass; purple coneflower; rough blazing star; wild bergamot; smooth and rough-stemmed aster; wild columbine; woodland sunflower; and wild quinine.
We encourage you to take a walk through the pollinator gardens located at the office (on the hill); Meadow trail (first loop); and near the ballpark. Check out what insects and wildlife may be using these plants.
What Can You do?
Plant flowers that bloom from spring to fall, provide nesting sites, & eliminate pesticides. Recommended plants include: pussy willow, plum, cherry, blueberry, dogwood, chokeberry, lupine, juneberry, milkweed, coneflower, bergamot, sunflower, blazing star, goldenrod, and aster.
To volunteer with this project, go to Pollinators in the Park.
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