By Mai Mai Margules       

Planting a bed of pollinator-friendly herbs and flowers -- including this yellow coreopsis -- at Shames JCC on the Hudson.

June was National Pollinators Month and on June 11th, fifty families joined together to plant over 200 native American wildflowers on the campus of the Shames JCC on the Hudson in Tarrytown.

Previously, only turf had existed in that location, and now flowering native wildflowers will sustain pollinators and beautify the premises for years to come. So how did this come about?              
 

In early March TEAC presented a new program, Green Landscape Champion (GLC),  to local business leaders attending the Tarrytown/ Sleepy Hollow Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting. We asked that local businesses and organizations lead the way in implementing eco-friendly landscaping practices by planting indigenous American wildflowers, forgoing pesticides and leaving some leaves in the fall to provide pollinator habitat on their properties.


Recognizing a Champion: Adam Weiss (center) with landscape plaque; Kerstin Erdbrink (left) and Mai Mai Margules, TEAC's pollinator-championing volunteers.

Adam Weiss, CEO of Shames JCC on the Hudson, immediately stepped forward to sign on to the initiative and proposed landscaping the entire perimeter of the JCC with native plants that would be installed by children and member families.
 

 When asked what prompted his enthusiasm for the plan, Adam stated: “ The JCC nurtures community and nurturing plants is a good way to nurture community, it’s a good fit…  Aesthetics impacts experience and being close to nature is so important.”