A new pollinator garden in Minisink Ford opens on Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the public is invited to help put the finishing touches on the project.
The Monarch Waystation, Pollinator and Educational Garden is being developed along Route 97, just south of the Roebling Bridge, at the site of a former bald eagle observation blind.
The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at Eagle Observation Number 2, 431-297 Route 97 in Barryville.
Laura Burrell of the Barryville Town Council is helping with the project. She said the former eagle observation structure had fallen into disrepair and was removed for safety reasons. The garden is being created in its footprint.
The project is designed to provide habitat and food for monarch butterflies and other pollinators, including bees, hoverflies and ruby-throated hummingbirds.
“We wanted to rethink this space,” Burrell said, describing the garden as a way to support native pollinators while creating an attractive community space.
Burrell said the garden will also serve as an educational space where visitors can learn about native plants, habitat restoration and the monarch butterfly population.
The garden will include plants such as St. John’s wort, common yarrow and false indigo, as well as flowering dogwoods. A mulch pathway is also being installed.
The project is supported through a Sullivan 180 grant. The Town of Highland and the Greater Barryville Chamber of Commerce worked together to seek funding for the new garden and maintenance of existing community gardens. Donations have also come from Delaware Valley Farm and Garden Center and the Agway in Callicoon.
Work is underway, and members of the public are encouraged to participate. Project organizers will be on site during the planting and will provide information about the plants and their role in supporting pollinators.
“It’s definitely a roll up your sleeves and participate project,” Burrell said.
Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves and help with the planting.
The new garden builds on a smaller pollinator garden established at the site in 2015.
Image: Monarch butterflies are pollinators that are well known for their impressive long-distance migration and their recent declines. The species highlights the need for conservation efforts for all pollinators across the nation. (butterfly-conservation.org)