Pollinator Habitats in Union County Parks and Community Gardens

More photos coming soon!

Warinanco Lake Shoreline Restoration: This ongoing project in Union County’s Warinanco Park replaced mowed areas with native plants to provide a habitat for butterflies, bees, birds and other pollinators. Volunteers (indivduals and groups) are welcome to assist through the Union County Adopt-a-Park program.

Trailside Nature and Science Center Pollinator Meadow: This new meadow replaces an unused roadside area in the Watchung Reservation. The project is being spearheaded by a local Girl Scout in partnership with Union County’s  Adopt-a-Park program, with an assist from the Borough of Mountainside Fire Department. A preliminary planting of milkweed seedlings was conducted in fall 2016 after the County Parks Department mowed the area, and it was seeded with native wildflowers and grasses in winter 2017.

Scotch Plains – Fanwood Township Community Garden:  This garden was newly constructed in 2016 with assistance from the Union County Means Green Community Garden Grants program, which includes funding for pollinator plots. In its first season the garden has already attracted caterpillars for an important pollinator, the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly.

Plant This, Not That: Any yard can become a beautiful pollinator garden. Plant This, Not That is an online booklet that shows how to choose colorful native plants that look similar to cultivated varieties. It was conceived and produced by a local Girl Scout with assistance from the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation.