The Bee Friendly Williamstown Pollinator Garden is located in the front portion of the Spruces park, on the far side of the pond along Route 2. Two picnic tables have been installed in the vicinity, one of them adapted for use with a wheelchair. An additional 40 or so shrubs line the space between the pond and the sidewalk along Route 2.

The plantings are deliberately “wild,” with rough borders and meadow grass pushing up around many varieties of pollinator-friendly species. Unlike the rest of the Spruces, the area is not annually bush-hogged. Wood-chip “pathways” crisscross the plantings so viewers can get a close look at the flowers and their visitors. The flowers include varieties of milkweed, echinacea, sunflower, grape, and black-eyed susan, among others. The plants have co-evolved to target different pollinator species, including native bees, butterflies, moths, and flies; they bloom at different times from early spring through late fall to ensure a steady food supply.

Bee Friendly Williamstown volunteers tend and enhance the garden, adding new plants and working on weed control and soil improvement. This spring, work on the garden is continuing, while respecting social distancing protocol.

If you are interested in helping out, please email beefriendlywilliamstown@gmail.com

Bee Friendly Williamstown was launched in 2018, thanks to a grant from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at UMass Lowell. The goal of the initiative was to educate and raise awareness about the issues threatening the health and survival of local pollinator populations. After hosting a variety of talks about new ways to garden “for pollinators,” the group embarked on a garden plan of its own. In June 2018, volunteers planted more than 150 native flowers and shrubs in two areas at The Spruces Park in Williamstown. The long-time mobile home park there had been destroyed by devastating floods in 2011, and the land has since been cleared and placed under FEMA restrictions.

Thank you to Anne O’Connor for compiling and sharing this information. Photo credits go to Anne O’Connor and Laura Bentz.