Ardsley Pollinator Pathway
Making significant change, one yard at a time.
The April Cross Pollination Newsletter, Earth Day Edition - Soil, can be accessed here.
The March Cross Pollination Newsletter, Thrill, Spill and Fill, can be accessed here.
The February Cross Pollination Newsletter, The Delights of a Woodland Garden, can be accessed here.
Why a Pollinator Pathway?
Thanks to Chet Kerr for passing along this wonderful video from the Nyack Pollinator Pathway that so poignantly explains why pollinator pathways are so important and why our backyards and public spaces are vital to saving pollinators. Click here.
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Upcoming Events
ARDSLEY POLLINATOR DAY! Free native plant giveaway! Sunday, April 6, noon - 4 pm, at the Ardsley Community Center, 18 Center Street, Ardsley.
Our mission is to make significant change, one yard at a time. We are literally putting our money where our mouth is this year by offering free, tough native plant to attendees while supplies last, asking only that you plant it and care for it to help our pollinators. We'll have over 600 plants/seedlings. We’ll have experts available to help you plan pollinator gardens, choose the best native plants for your yard, support Monarch butterflies, and answer your questions. Happy Earth Month! No registration required.
Strategies for Dealing with Deer, Zoom, Wednesday, April 9, 7:30 pm.
Do deer consider your landscape to be an all-you-can-eat buffet? These beautiful but ravenous creatures are a problem in many of our gardens. Join Extension Master Gardener Kathie Clements to learn effective strategies for dealing with deer. Deer browsing pressure requires that we think creatively about our home landscapes. Click here to register.
2025 Home Gardening Webinar Series by the Cornell Cooperative Extension,
Flowering Native Shrubs, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM
Gardening in Small Spaces, Wednesday, April 9, 2025 10:00 AM-11:00 AM
Shade Gardening, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM
For more information click here>
Vine Removal Demo & Spring Seeding, Sunday, April 27, 10 am to 12 pm. The Lyndhurst Carriage House. Free a tree and sow some seeds!
Rescheduled due to snow! Learn how to grow native plants from seeds with the Tarrytown TEAC. Soil and native seeds provided. Repurpose and bring your own plastic clamshell container (the containers salads come in). There will also be a vine removal demo. Take home pollinator friendly annual seeds and select natives to jump-start your spring garden! Click here to register - limited space.
Free Tree and Shrub Sapling Giveaway, Tuesday, April 29, 5 pm - 7:30 pm in the Greenburgh Public Library Multi-purpose Room.
The Greenburgh Public Library and Ardsley Pollinator Pathway are partnering again to bring you free native trees and shrubs to celebrate Arbor Day. No registration required. For more information, click here.
Upcoming Native Plant Sales
SAVE THE DATE: April 26, Native Plant Sale at the Native Plant Center, Westchester Community College Campus
News:
March's webinar, Exciting (free) native trees shrubs and plants for your yard: To access the slides with information about the plants, trees and shrubs, click here. To access the recording, click here.
The recording and materials for February's Native Plant Species and Cultivars with Elaine Mills, can be accessed by clicking here
The recording for January's webinar, Landscaping with native plants and shrubs: easy and beautiful combinations for your yard, can be accessed by clicking here
The recording and reference material for December's webinar, Beauty for the Bees, can be accessed by clicking here
The recording of November's webinar, Lessons Learned from 100 Garden Consultations, can be accessed by clicking here
The recording of our recent presentation, "Selecting and Caring for Native Tree and Shrub Saplings," is now available. Whether you missed the live session or wish to revisit the valuable insights shared by our experts, you can access the recording at https://vimeo.com/channels/greenburghlibrary/941297555.
Keystone Species of Native Plants. Thanks to everyone who attended the webinar on April 10. The presentation and other documents can be accessed here.
Ardsley Spring Gardening Festival Presentations and Other Documents. Thanks to everyone who attended the Spring Gardening Festival on March 10. The presentations can be accessed below for your reference. Click here to enter the folder of presentations.
Going Wild With Hedgerows, Meadows and Plants with Kathy Evers. The video recording can be found here. The audio recording can be found here. Kathy's reference sheet of the plants she used in her various beds can be accessed here.
Ardsley again achieves Leadership Circle Achievement from National Wildlife Federations (NWF) Mayors' Monarch Pledge
Ardsley is one of a few municipalities in North America in 2024, 2023 and 2022 that earned the Leadership Circle Achievement for the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors Monarch Pledge. Cities and municipalities in the program commit each year to support endangered monarch butterflies by creating habitat and educating residents on how to make a difference at home or in their community.
Ardsley is proud to support our beloved monarch butterflies and to have again earned the Leadership Circle honor. Ardsley is now part of an expanding North American network of cities working to create habitat in public parks, public landscaping, vacant lots, roadsides, medians, green roofs, backyard gardens and open spaces throughout the entire community.
For easy steps you can take to help monarch butterflies in your yard see the November Cross Pollination News - The Monarch Edition.
Pollinate Now! Bioregional Strategy for Habitat Restoration in the Hudson River Estuary Watershed with Evan Abramson, Principal of Landscape Interactions. The recording of the presentation can be accessed here. The audio of the presentation can be accessed here. Evan has kindly offered the online version of his book, Pollinate Now! on his website and it can be downloaded here.
Sustaining Wildlife in Fall and Winter with Deb Ellis. The video recording can be accessed here; The audio recording can be accessed here; The chat can be accessed here. Deb's slides can be accessed here, and her list of favorite fall plants can be found here..
Garden Visit: Kathy Ever's Rewilded Yard. Click here to see Kathy's diagrams and plant lists for her garden beds.
The recording for Mushrooms in Your Yard with Taro Ietaka can be accessed here.
This documentary is a feast for the eyes and soul. Check out A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee. This award winning short documentary inspires us to protect and provide habitat for all creatures and to prevent the extinction of the most vulnerable. Plant away!! We make the difference.
Introducing Our New Mailbox Gardens How-To Guides
You asked for it and we created it - a step- by- step guide to create a pollinator garden. We give you the design, the materials and quantities you'll need, and the list of plants. Four different garden sizes in each guide. You buy the plants, dig them in, and watch them grow. Check them out - it's easy!
Full-Part Sun Pollinator Wildflower Mailbox Gardens
Full to Part Sun Pollinator Grass and Sedge Mailbox Gardens
Part Shade Pollinator Mailbox Gardens
Full to Part Sun Monarch Butterfly Mailbox Garden
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Resources:
Previous Get Together Presentations and Reference materials available here.
View the new DEC documentary on invasive plants, Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species
Join the Ardsley Pollinator Pathway
We're making substantial change, one yard at a time. Join our distribution list.
Our Mission
The Ardsley Pollinator Pathway Project's mission is to raise awareness, educate, and encourage the participation of Ardsley’s residents, businesses, government, and other organizations in the creation and maintenance of healthy pollinator habitats in the Village of Ardsley.
The world’s community of pollinators is in crisis.
One in four native bee species are facing extinction.
There are significant declines in other pollinator populations as well, which include beetles, ants, birds, moths, butterflies, flies, gnats, and small mammals, such as bats.
Pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of 80-95% of plant species on earth.
There are numerous causes for this decline, with habitat loss and pesticide use at the top.
Conservation techniques work! When homeowners, governmental agencies and private businesses commit to expanding pollinator-friendly, pesticide-free habitats, we will change the future for pollinators and secure our own. We encourage your home to become a node on a path through Ardsley!
No effort is too small! We need your help. They need your help.
Ardsley Pollinator Pathway Map
View our growing pathway that will connect us with other communities. Add your own pollinator garden to the map. Click on the purple flower pins to learn more about each steppingstone in our pathway.
Visit the Ardsley CAN by 2030! website to learn more about how you can easily reduce your carbon footprint and make small changes to act sustainably.