BERLIN – A pollinator garden is now located behind St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
As the town prepares to celebrate National Pollinator Week June 19-25, a new garden at St. Paul’s features plants for pollinators.
“It’s good for the earth and God’s creation,” said Helen Wiley.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Church Mouse and Lower Shore Land Trust worked together this past month to create the St. Paul’s Pollinator Garden.
Wiley, a church member and coordinator of the Church Mouse, the church’s thrift shop that raises funds for outreach, said she was walking home from Stephen Decatur Park one day and noticed the empty green space behind the church cemetery.
“I thought why shouldn’t there be a garden here?” she said.
The idea quickly took root, and with Berlin’s “Bee City USA” designation it was easily decided the garden should feature plants to attract pollinators. Wiley worked with Lower Shore Land Trust to determine the layout of the garden and which plants to include.
Beth Sheppard, agricultural outreach specialist for Lower Shore Land Trust, said the garden would provide a great example for area residents.
“Projects like the one at St. Paul’s serve as demonstration gardens for the community,” Sheppard said. “Our hope is that they inspire and educate others to add native plants to their home landscaping.”
Lower Shore Land Trust has been promoting native plants and pollinator gardens for years. Each spring, the nonprofit hosts a native plant sale as well as a pollinator garden tour.
This year’s tour is set for June 23 and 24 and showcases how native plants can be used in a variety of gardens. Sheppard says the St. Paul’s garden could be a way to connect more interested residents with Lower Shore Land Trust.
“It’s also a great way to engage volunteers in our work,” she said.
Wiley said the garden, which is located behind the cemetery and adjacent to Stephen Decatur Park property, was planted with help from land trust staff in early May and already has some flowering plants.
On Friday, June 2 at 9:30 a.m. the church invites community members for a ribbon cutting.
“All are welcome,” a release from the Berlin Chamber of Commerce reads. “There will be a blessing of the garden and light refreshments.”
Wiley said the garden was made possible with financial support from the Church Mouse, parishioners of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Lower Shore Land Trust. She believes it supports the goals of the town’s Bee City initiative and will benefit the local ecosystem.
“It’s a great idea to have native plants to support the birds and the bees,” she said.
At last week’s council meeting, Mayor Zack Tyndall recognized Wiley and read a proclamation for National Pollinator Week.
“Pollinator species provide significant environmental benefits that are necessary for maintaining healthy, biodiverse urban and suburban ecosystems…,” Tyndall read from the proclamation. “Pollination plays a vital role for the trees and plants of our community, enhancing our quality of life, and creating recreational economic development opportunities.”
