Native plants provide food for adult and larval pollinators.
Pollinators provide critical connections in our food web.
Growing native nectar-bearing plants is a great way to attract pollinators
Habitat loss and climate change threaten Monarch butterfly populations.
Our yards and landscapes can provide habitat for pollinators.
Proclaim your commitment with this attractive yard sign.
Putnam Pollinator Pathway
Launched to encourage and support habitat for native pollinators, the PUTNAM POLLINATOR PATHWAY is an initiative of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County. Individuals, groups, clubs, parks, libraries, care facilities, golf courses, schools, commercial and retail entities, municipalities, and others, are joining together to establish a corridor for pollinators spanning the County and connecting with other Pathways across the Northeast.
Why
Insects form a critical link in the food web that sustains all life. A whopping 80-90 percent of all flowering plants depend on insect pollination, and insect pollination accounts for one in three bites of the food we eat. Yet native insect populations are in peril due to declining native plant populations, improper pesticide use, and climate change. The pollinators need help!
How
People on the Pathway are planting native trees, shrubs and flowers to provide pollinators with healthy habitat (food, water, shelter) throughout the growing season and nesting places through the winter. They are also eliminating pesticides that harm pollinators, birds, other wildlife, and even our own water supplies.
Creating a pesticide-free corridor of public and private properties forges links between our communities, provides the diversity of plant species all nature needs, and makes our landscape more healthy and beautiful.
Join the Putnam Pollinator Pathway!
Sign up to add your yard, forest, landscape or even your flower pots to the Pathway by clicking here. Join and purchase a sign by clicking here. And if you have more questions, email us at PutnamPollinatorPathway@gmail.com
Interactive Virtual Tour of a Real Pollinator Garden:
Contact
Jennifer Lerner
Senior Resource Educator
jjs95@cornell.edu
845-278-6738 ext. 216
Last updated September 29, 2021
Don’t Blame the Goldenrod! by Lynne Bernstein
It’s that time of year when seasonal allergies we call hay fever are triggered by wind-dispersed pollen of Ambrosia, native ragweed. Many people blame hay fever on goldenrod (Solidago sp.) because its bright yellow blooms are so conspicuous during hay fever season, however, ragweed is the real culprit. Both goldenrod and ragweed are in the aster family and often grow wild together in the same places, along roads and in fields. They both also bloom in late summer. But that’s where the similarities end.
Ragweed is an annual that must produce millions of seeds in order to ensure the species survival from one year to the next. Ragweed is wind-pollinated: the wind blows the pollen from one flower to another. Because it does not rely on insects for pollination, it doesn’t have to attract them with bright, showy flowers that promise nectar rewards, or pollen that sticks to their bodies. In fact, ragweed flowers contain no nectar and their pollen is very light and easily airborne. The flowers are small and quite inconspicuous, appearing more like buds than flowers. Read more...
Join the Putnam Pollinator Pathway!
Take the Pledge. Buy a sign. Proclaim your support for pollinators.
Northeast Pollinator Map
To put your property on the NE Regional Pollinator Pathway map, click here:
Join the Northeast Pollinator Pathway!
You will sign up with them (different from signing up with PPP) to get on the map!