Native pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, bats and hummingbirds. Pollinators are vital to plant reproduction and plant diversity and pollinators support many benefits that humans receive from healthy ecosystems –most notably, food system security and climate resilient landscapes. Pollinators are threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, pesticides, disease and parasites.
The Regional Pollinator Action Plan for Franklin County, Regional Pollinator Habitat Corridor Implementation Toolkit and local Pollinator Action Plans are the first of their kind in Massachusetts.
Details
The project included developing a map of pollinator habitats and potential connections; recommending ways that communities can amend land use regulations to better support pollinator habitats through native plantings and pollinator-friendly landscape management practices, and creating a Pollinator Habitat Corridor Implementation Toolkit.
The plan is expandable – with additional funding and interest from other Franklin County towns, regional pollinator corridors can be expanded across the county. Local-level strategies such as these are critically needed to respond to climate change, habitat loss, and declining populations of wild, native pollinator species. The sustainability of our local ecosystems, farms, and food systems is linked to pollinators.
For more information, contact Kimberly Noake MacPhee at [email protected] or 413 774-3167 x 130.
Staff
Audrey Boraski
Tamsin Flanders
Allison Gage
Kimberly MacPhee, P.G., CFM
Peggy Sloan
Resources
Local Efforts
Great strides have been taken in moving the Action Plan forward in Greenfield, with the establishment of many pollinator gardens, rain gardens, and bioswales in the downtown area. These are highlighted in the Greening Greenfield website below.
“Park by Park, Yard by Yard: Building a Pollinator Corridor in Greenfield”
