Members of the Little Scientists club hold native plants while posing for a photo at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Legislator Sarah Anker, far right, poses with the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, the Little Scientists, Long Island Native Plant Initiative and Cornell Cooperative Extension at her pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A boy from the Little Scientists club holds a native plant above his head. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Legislator Sarah Anker speaks to the girl scouts and little scientists and asks them questions about native plants and pollinators at her pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Polly Weigand of the Long Island Native Plant Initiative and Legislator Sarah Anker speak to the girl scouts and members of the Little Scientists club about saving local pollinators and supporting local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A little girl holds a flower at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Butterfly milkweed was one of several types of milkweed and native plants planted at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County and the Little Scientists club joined county Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), Heritage Trust, the Long Island Native Plant Initiative and members of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension to plant local native species in Anker’s Educational Agriculture Support Initiative pilot garden Tuesday at Heritage Park in Mount Sinai.
The Girl Scouts, alongside their younger counterparts from the Little Scientists club, got down in the dirt and planted several native plants, including various types of milkweed which attract monarch butterflies and other native pollinators to the area.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, monarch butterflies and other native pollinators to Long Island have decreased in numbers by more than 80 percent in the past two decades. Native bee populations are also on the decline. With this decline in native pollinators, Anker hopes to educate people about the importance of native plants and pollinators in the environment.
But before members of the LINPI and Cornell Cooperative Extension helped the Girl Scouts and Little Scientists plant flowers and plants in the pilot garden, Anker gathered the children and tested their knowledge on the importance of native plants and pollinators.
Michelle Skoblicki created the Little Scientists club four years ago. The program caters to children from pre-K to fifth grade, and its goal, according to Skoblicki, is to provide these kids with a means to expand their knowledge about science through hands-on activities, literature and art.
Skoblicki recently taught the kids about life cycles using butterflies, and hopes to release the butterflies they raised in the pilot garden by the end of the week.
“We were hoping to have them ready for the garden but they were still in their chrysalises,” Skoblicki said.
Members of the Girl Scouts also helped plant native plants in the garden; and Maris Lynch, who is involved in her third event as a Girl Scout, was simply happy to help.
The launch was the first event for Girl Scouts Analynn Bisiani and Lindsey Galligan. Bisiani said she was happy to participate and was having fun.
“I would definitely do this again,” Bisiani said.
Galligan was one of several kids who grasped Anker’s message.
“Plant are … a very important part of our community,” Galligan said. “They help insects which help us — and that’s that.”
Anker was excited for the launch and hopes to continue spreading the word about the importance of pollinators and the native plants they need.
“When your kids, when your grandkids or great grandkids are here at the park, I want them to experience everything that I’m experiencing now,” the county legislator said. “If we don’t do something now, we’ll loose this forever.”
Mountains of mulch dwarf Councilman Dan Panico, Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro and Supervisor Ed Romaine at the Brookhaven Town highway yard in Setauket. Photo from Brookhaven Town
The severe thunderstorm that slapped around the North Shore earlier this month had one benefit: Lots of debris leads to lots of mulch.
Brookhaven Town officials announced recently that the town now has a large supply of mulch to give away to residents, and both mulch and compost will be distributed for free, as supplies last. Residents must bring their own containers to the distribution locations throughout the town and must load the materials into their vehicles themselves.
Pickup locations, which opened for distribution on Aug. 24, include:
• Percy Raynor park, at Route 347 and Belle Mead Road in Centereach, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the weekend.
• Rose Caracappa Senior Center on Route 25A in Mount Sinai, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the weekend.
• Brookhaven Town Hall’s south parking lot, off 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Robert Reid park, at Defense Hill Road and Route 25A in Shoreham, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the weekend.
• Holtsville Ecology Center, on Buckley Road in Holtsville, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information and pickup locations, call 631-451-TOWN.
Radishes only take 30 days to mature so you can easily plant them for at least another month. Stock photo
By Ellen Barcel
Just because we’re so far into summer, you don’t have to make the assumption that the season is over for growing vegetables. There are many you can plant by mid-August that will mature by Long Island’s earliest frost date — early November — unless you have a microclimate in your area that is much colder than the rest of the island. There are even veggies that you can start growing as late as mid-September.
The rule of thumb for fall planting is to look up the maturity date of the plants you wish to grow — 30 days, for example, for radishes. Then count backward. The last date you can plant radishes then would be the end of September or the very beginning of October. To be on the safe side, figure the middle of September, instead. Always check the package maturity date because different varieties can vary tremendously. Early varieties of beets can mature by 50 days while later varieties can take up to 80 days; early carrots 60 days while later ones up to 85.
Veggies that you can plant in mid-August include bush beans (early varieties mature in 45 days, late varieties in 65 days), early cabbage (60 days), cucumbers (60 days), mustard greens (40 days),peas (60 days), spinach (40 days) and turnips (40 days). Early carrots (50 days), kohlrabi (45 to 60 days) and leaf lettuce (40 to 50 days).
Some varieties of beans will mature in just 45 days. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Remember that all of the above are averages. An unusually hot September may affect your veggies negatively. An unusually early frost may do the same thing. But, this is what farmers from way back have had to contend with.You plant based on the averages but Mother Nature may have other plans.
The Year Without a Summer, 1816, was called that because there was frost in every one of the 12 months of the year. The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, spewing ash into the atmosphere and blocking the sun the year before, is credited with this phenomenon. But, we don’t need a drastic event to affect our garden. We gardeners know the damage to our plants caused by the cold and snow of the last two winters.
On the other hand, frost could be late. I remember a few years ago, putting out my Christmas wreath next to the geraniums, which were not only alive but still blooming.
So, go ahead and plant a late season vegetable garden and cross your fingers that Mother Nature cooperates to give you a bountiful fall harvest.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
A sweet cherry tree at Kunz Nursery in Port Jefferson Station. Photo by Heidi Sutton
By Ellen Barcel
When I was a kid, I used to go with my father and aunt to gather wild cherries. Cherries can, of course, be used to make a number of edibles, but my aunt used the cherries to make a cherry cordial. Unfortunately, because I was a kid, I never got to taste it, but all the adults claimed it was quite good.
If you’re interested in growing cherries, autumn/early winter is the ideal time to start. Planting trees in the fall allows the roots to settle in and continue to grow even into December until there’s a hard freeze. It’s like you’re giving the tree a head start for next year.
Wild cherries
There are a number of cherry species that are commonly known as wild cherry. The one growing wild in this area is Prunus serotina,a native of eastern North America. It grows as far north as Canada and south to central Florida and Texas. According to the U.S. Forest Service it’s the only cherry tree that grows under such a wide range of climate conditions. Most are more limited.
Other names for this tree include black cherry, wild black cherry and rum cherry. Interestingly, cherries are in the rose (Rosaceae) family, a family that includes apples, almonds, pears, peaches and a whole lot more.
Wild cherries are eaten by birds and small mammals. With their white spring flowers, the trees are frequently grown as specimen trees. Since the cherries are not very sweet, they are generally not eaten right off the tree. Instead, they are used for jellies, jams, cherry pie and even a chilled cherry soup.
Sweet cherries
What if you’re more interested in growing sweeter cherries, cherries that you can pop into your mouth and savor right in the garden?
Well, there are many varieties of cherry trees that produce sweet cherries. Perhaps the most well known is the Bing cherry (P. avium ‘Bing’), sweet and flavorful with a deep garnet to almost black color. The tree can reach a height of 30 to 35 feet. White spring flowers in April give way to cherries in June. The tree needs full sun and is adapted to most soil conditions. It does well in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 5 to 9 (Long Island is 7). One of the disadvantages of this tree is that it requires another cherry tree for pollination. This can be almost any variety of cherry tree, but it does mean that space is taken up with two, not just one, tree.
Another sweet cherry, Lapins (P. avium ‘Lapins’) is self-fertile, so you don’t need another tree for pollination. It’s a smaller tree, another plus for Long Island gardens that don’t always have enormous amount of space for trees. It, too, does well in zones 5 to 9.
When you go shopping for cherry trees, make sure you check the hardiness zones and future height as well as whether the tree is self-fertile or requires a pollinator. A soil pH of anywhere from 5.5 to 8.0 is suitable, although 6.0 and up is more ideal. Always test your soil first and adjust the pH as needed.
Flowering cherries
Kwanzan flowering cherry (P. serrulata ‘Kwanzan’) is grown for its gorgeous spring flowers, not fruit. It does well in a wide variety of soil pH levels but does require sun to maximize flowers. Its limited life span, 15 to 25 years, may be seen as a negative.
Weeping cherry (P. subhirtella ‘Pendula Plena Rosea’) is another one grown for its shape and flowers not its fruit. It grows in zones 5 to 8and is generally a small tree, 20 to 25 feet tall.
General information
Cherry trees grow in a wide range of soil pH levels, but this may vary depending on the variety of tree you select. If your soil is very acidic, then add lime to make it sweeter. Remember, once you start liming the soil, you must continue since in time, it will revert to what it tends to be naturally.
They all need a well-drained soil, ideal for Long Island since most of our soil is sandy and therefore drains well.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Together with sun and sufficient rain, compost tea will help lilac plants bloom. Photo by Ellen Barcel
By Ellen Barcel
Last week, we took a look at compost in general, what it is and how it’s made and used. This week, we’ll take a look at compost tea.
Compost tea is rich in nutrients but will not change the structure of the soil as compost itself will. It brings nutrients to plants quickly, while compost itself is more slow-release with nutrients going into the soil more gradually. Plan to use your compost tea within a few hours after its made.
There are a number of ways to make compost tea, some requiring a variety of equipment. The easiest way is to take a large bucket and fill it with mature compost. Add an equal amount of water and let it steep for a few hours to overnight. Take cheesecloth or burlap and strain the liquid out of the bucket. The liquid can be applied to the soil or used to foliar feed. It is taken up quickly by the plants’ roots. Some people take the compost and put it in a burlap sack and suspend it in a bucket or barrel of water to avoid the straining step.
Some gardeners feel that compost tea needs to ferment and therefore will add molasses to the liquid. The University of Vermont Extension, however, notes that its recommendation is to avoid adding simple sugars like molasses to the mix. It also notes that if the compost tea is made with additives but not tested for safety, then food crops may not be harvested “until 90 to 120 days after the compost tea has been applied.” This is the same recommendation for raw (not composted) manure being added to the garden.
How exactly you go about making the compost tea is up to you, but taking this extra step, while time consuming, gets nutrients into your plants quickly and makes for healthy plants. Healthy plants are more disease and pest resistant. Compost tea can be sprayed on your lawn as well as used for perennials, annuals, shrubs etc.
Remember, a benefit of compost and compost tea that you make yourself is that you control exactly what goes into it. You can totally avoid pesticides and chemical fertilizers if you want. Also, remember to avoid adding diseased plant matter to the compost pile.
If you are interested in making compost tea, there are two excellent, detailed articles from the University of Vermont (www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/composttea.html) and the University of Illinois (https://web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/materials.cfm). Cornell Cooperative Extension also has an excellent online brochure on composting in general (https://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/compostbrochure.pdf).
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
In many of my previous columns, I’ve talked about the benefits of using compost and compost tea on your plants. Let’s start with some basic information on what compost is and how to make it.
Compost is decayed organic matter. It’s full of nutrients and makes a great fertilizer for plants. Compost aerates clay soil and helps to hold moisture in sandy soil, so it improves soil structure. Making your own compost keeps waste out of the land fill. It also ensures that you can keep pesticides and other chemicals out of the compost and therefore out of your soil.
There are two types of compost piles, hot and cold. The hot pile raises the temperature of the ingredients to at least 135 degrees. There are several benefits of a hot compost pile. One is that many damaging organisms, like plant bacteria, are killed in a hot pile. Another is that the hot pile decomposes more quickly. Add equal parts green and brown matter, grass clippings and dry leaves, for example, all finely chopped and mixed together. Smaller pieces will decompose more quickly than larger ones. Add some manure in the ratio of 1/3 to 2/3 plant matter for a hot pile or add some blood and bone fertilizer.
A cold compost pile takes longer to decompose, but you need to be less concerned with ratios, manure, etc. Never put diseased leaves in a cold pile. You’re just saving the disease organisms for the next season. Actually, I never put diseased plant parts in any compost pile, just to be on the safe side. Make sure that you keep the compost pile moist or the plant matter will not decompose. Think about the Egyptian mummies, in the desert for thousands of years, yet not decomposed. Periodically turn the pile over. If you use one of the rotating composters on a stand, this step is very easy.
What goes in the compost pile? Any healthy green plant matter, but not woody as it takes too long to decompose, and lawn clippings; coffee grounds and used tea bags; paper towels; and kitchen peelings including apple cores, orange peels, etc. — keep a closed container in the kitchen to collect them and then periodically bring them out to the garden — crushed eggshells and manure from herbivores, such as cows and horses.
Do not add protein, such as leftover meat, which draws critters and is slow to decompose; fatty substances; manure from carnivores, such as dogs and cats, as it can transmit disease; and diseased plant parts.
Compost can be applied as a top dressing or lightly dug into the soil, being careful to avoid surface roots of plants. It can also be mixed into the soil when you transplant or add a new plant to the garden.
If you choose not to make your own compost, but acquire it from other sources, remember that you don’t know what has been used to make that compost. It may be exactly as you would make yourself or not. If you are keeping a strictly organic garden, this can be a problem. For example, whoever made the compost may have used insecticides on the plant matter or weed killers. I used to get compost from a local free source only to find pieces of broken glass in it along with pieces of wire. So, always wear your gardening gloves to protect your hands.
Next week, making compost tea.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Morning glories, once planted, reseed themselves year after year. Photo by Ellen Barcel
By Ellen Barcel
By now, most gardeners know two restraints on Suffolk gardens. Fertilizer cannot be used on lawns before April 1. It must be stopped by Nov. 1. This is to prevent excess fertilizer, which can’t be taken up by plants in the cold weather, from being washed into and polluting the water table and surrounding bodies of water.
The second rule has to do with what plants can no longer be propagated and sold in the county. This is to prevent invasive species from taking over and forcing out native plants. The Do Not Sell list details these plants.
But, in addition, there is a Management list — a list that fewer gardeners are familiar with. What exactly does Suffolk County’s Management list mean and include? The Management list refers to plants which are invasive, but not as invasive as the ones on the Do Not Sell list. Those on the Management list can be legally sold and propagated in the county, but due to their invasive nature, it is recommended that they not be planted on Long Island, “especially by county agencies or for homes near natural habitats.”
Here are some that you may be familiar with or considering planting. Remember, these plants are not illegal to plant and grow, but do you really want to? They’re on the Management list for a reason.
English ivy (Hedera helix) is one that really takes over. Many years ago, when I didn’t know any better, I planted a few small plants. To this day, I’m still pulling out ivy plants. They spread like crazy, love Long Island’s climate and soil, and really take over. If I knew then what I know now, I’d never have planted them.
Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) is a native of Japan and China. It’s grown as an ornamental tree here.
A gardening friend of mine planted several and was told that the tree was relatively slow growing. She was very surprised at how quickly they grew and how large they got. It’s hardy in zones four to nine. It does well in acidic soil. The leaves turn a beautiful red color in autumn, but its aggressive nature makes it a problem.
Asian wisteria (Chinese and Japanese) is absolutely gorgeous, but does take over. Personally, I think it should be on the Do Not Sell list, but that’s just my opinion. Unless you are prepared to control it by pruning and pulling up any volunteers, avoid this one. It does extremely well in Long Island’s climate and soil, needing little in the way of fertilizers. The vines reach for the sun, so you will sometimes see them blooming at the top of trees to which they’ve become entwined. If you must grow these wisteria, train them around a pergola or gazebo and keep the pruning shears handy.
Periwinkle (Vinca minor) has blue flowers and is sold as a ground cover because it spreads so easily. Consider this when deciding to plant — it does spread easily.
Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana or Bradford Pear) is a beautiful tree, which is why it has become so popular, with beautiful white flowers and intense burgundy leaves in fall. It’s relatively quick growing and is the one of the last trees to lose its leaves in fall. In addition, it is disease resistant. All in all a great tree? Well, yes and no. It’s known as a tree whose wood splits easily and it’s not structurally sound — definitely not a good quality. Some produce viable seeds, so they can spread quickly.
Other common plants on the Management list include Common or European barberry, Russian olive, Morning glory, California privet, European privet, White mulberry and Kentucky bluegrass. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk’s website has a complete list of plants on the Management list; visit www.ccesuffolk.org.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Gypsy moth caterpillars rest on the trunk of this oak tree in Farmingville during the day. Photo by Elyse Sutton
By Ellen Barcel
Recently I received a photo of a Long Island oak tree covered in gypsy moth caterpillars from a reader who noted that chopped leaves were all over her yard and the caterpillar’s droppings covered her driveway. Moths seemed to be everywhere. What was going on?
Well, periodically, when the conditions are right, infestations of certain pests seem to explode. In this case, her offenders were gypsy moth caterpillars. The adult female gypsy moth is whitish in color with a few small brown spots. The male is slightly smaller and is tan with darker brown coloring.
It’s not the moths themselves but the larvae which do a number on the leaves of so many hardwood trees. The moth is indigenous to Europe, but was introduced to the United States when someone thought they could be used to cross with silkworms to develop a silk industry here. That never worked out, but the larvae have attacked trees, particularly in the Northeast, where they have continued to spread south and west.
The gypsy moth was soon recognized as a pest, defoliating trees. Accounts from the late 1800s talk about caterpillars covering roofs and sidewalks.
The female moth lays its eggs which overwinter. In spring, the eggs hatch, and the larvae emerge and feed voraciously on leaves. Usually in early summer the larvae turn into pupa, a stage which lasts two or more weeks. Then the skin splits open and the moth emerges to start the cycle over again. This time line varies as I already saw a female gypsy moth.
Like butterflies, the moths can’t eat, but can consume moisture. So it’s not the moth that’s the problem — it’s the caterpillar. Moths tend to be active at night, while butterflies are active during the day. The moths don’t have a long lifespan, just about a week, just long enough to mate and lay eggs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that the caterpillars emerge from the eggs at about the same time that trees begin to grow in early spring. While the larvae feed on many different species of trees, on Long Island they can be found on oak, pine, catalpa, dogwood, American holly, mountain laurel and arborvitae.
Encouraging birds to nest in your garden will help somewhat, as they will eat the caterpillars. But in a major infestation, they just can’t keep up.
The Dept. of Agriculture notes that most healthy trees can recover from infestations and grow a new set of leaves, but that trees already weakened by disease are more likely to die as a result of severe infestation. Repeated infestations also weaken trees, making them more prone to disease. Weather can affect outbreaks. Severely cold winters can kill the eggs, for example.
By now, the worst is over. But, as a gardener, what can you do if you are concerned about a future infestation? Because the life cycle of gypsy moths is year-round, control must be also. Don’t assume that now that the caterpillars are gone, the problem is over. They’ll be back again next year. The Dept. of Agriculture recommends the following:
Now:
* Diversify the type of trees you have in your garden
* Destroy egg masses if you see them — they look like a tan colored mass on wood (even firewood and wood furniture), and under leaves.
* Feed, water and fertilize trees as needed to keep them healthy. That way they can recover more easily in a major infestation.
Next spring:
*Use a band of burlap around the base of your trees, particularly oaks, in spring. Lift it up periodically to see how bad the infestation is. Then remove and destroy caterpillars manually if you can.
* Use double sided tape around trees to prevent the caterpillars from climbing up the trunk to the leaves.
* If you’ve had a particularly bad infestation this year, consider having a professional apply a pesticide next spring. This is a last resort, only to be used if your trees were badly damaged this year.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
They buzz and flutter and they are disappearing from Long Island’s environment. Pollinators are on the decline on the Island and nationwide.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, native pollinators such as Monarch butterflies have decreased in numbers by more than 80 percent in the past two decades. Native bee populations, among other indigenous pollinator species, are also on the decline, which can put local farms at risk as less pollinators mean less pollination.
But Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) hopes to help Long Island farmers combat the population decline with her new Educational Agriculture Support Initiative, which aims to increase the amount of native plant species on Long Island, starting with the Heritage Park in Mount Sinai.
“The history of Heritage Park is [that] we wanted to take care of the rural character and the heritage of the area,” Lori Baldassare, president of Heritage Trust, said about how the park got involved with Anker’s initiative. According to Baldassare, Anker has a long history with the park so “it just seemed like a natural place to do [a] … demonstration garden.”
Honeybees, above, which are native to Europe are efficient pollen collectors and honey producers but they are not effective pollinators because pollen sticks onto their legs so well. They are one of the few bee species that live in a hive. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Although Anker has teamed up with Heritage Trust, Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, Long Island Native Plant Initiative, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and the Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District to help create a pilot native plant species garden at Heritage Park, she said that it will take more than the individuals from these organizations to bring back local pollinator species.
“I need people to participate,” she said. “I need people to understand that this is really important. If we don’t preserve [the environment] nobody else will.”
According to Polly Weigand, executive director of the plant initiative and senior soil district technician for the conservation district, the team is trying to provide the pilot garden with various native plant species, including native grasses, which will attract and sustain pollinators throughout the year. While these plants are neither flowering nor the most visually appealing, Weigand said the grasses provide a place for insects to lay their eggs and shelter during the winter months.
While some invasive or nonnative plants, like butterfly bush, can provide food for native butterflies, it isn’t sufficient for these insects to lay their eggs or seek shelter. Native insects evolve with the native plants in the area. The evolution allows these creatures to use a plant for shelter and sustenance. Although some invasive or nonnative plants can provide food and habitat for these small creatures, this is not always the case.
“Plants have a little chemical warfare that they play with the species that are going to [prey] on them,” Weigand said. “They put out toxins to try to keep the animal from eating the leaves.”
It takes several generations before an insect can successfully utilize the foreign plants for their life cycle.
But according to Robin Simmen, community horticulture specialist for the cooperative extension, and Laura Klahre, beekeeper and owner of Blossom Meadow in Cutchogue, in addition to the lack of suitable plants, the use of pesticides and lack of suitable habitat for Long Island pollinators are some of the many factors contributing to the decline in the native species.
Polly Weigand, left, of the Long Island Native Plant Initiative, and county Legislator Sarah Anker, right, discuss native plant species for Anker’s Educational Agriculture Support Initiative pilot garden at Heritage Park in Mount Sinai. Photo by Giselle Barkley
“We used to just think that we would get these free pollination services from nature,” Klahre said. “But in the future that may not be the case because there aren’t enough flowers around [and] we have so many pesticides.”
Pesticides that target unwanted pests, like ticks, are also detrimental to native bees, which live underground.
When the toxins seep into an area in close proximity to native insects, some eventually develop dementia.
Klahre also mentioned the lack of open space as an issue as it jeopardizes the livelihood of the bugs.
While Klahre does not know by how much the native bee population has declined, she said they are struggling to maintain their populations just like their European counterpart, the honeybee. According to Klahre there are about 4,000 different bee species nationwide and 450 different species in New York state alone.
Unlike docile native bees like mining, mason or sweat bees, honeybees are not efficient pollen collectors.
Native bees are among the best pollinators for a variety of plant species. The native bees also yield higher quality and longer lasting fruits like apples or cherries, which can have a thicker outer skin; a thicker skin means that the fruits have a longer shelf life than those pollinated by honeybees.
Although Anker said farms across Long Island are affected by the decline in pollinator species as they are forced to import pollinating bees to the locations, Klahre said she only saw a disruption in growing produce with home gardeners.
Monarch butterflies, above, fly from their wintering grounds in Mexico to Long Island, which serves as their breeding range during the summer. Monarchs born during the summer only live three to five weeks in comparison to overwintering adult Monarchs that can live up to nine months. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Pollinators like bees usually have a route that they go on to collect pollen and nectar before returning to their habitat. If these insects are not accustomed or attracted to a homeowner’s property, it is unlikely that the pollinator will visit the area. This is especially the case for homeowners who have a simple grass lawn.
While some grasses help native insects, a bare lawn does not provide a pollinator with the necessary sources of food in order to survive.
But Anker’s goal is to educate the community about the best way to attract and support these insects using appropriate native plant species like milkweed, among others.
“I’m actually looking to have [pilot gardens] throughout Suffolk County,” Anker said in regards to her initiative.
The plant initiative has selected the types of native plants that will go into Anker’s pilot garden, which could be designed and constructed toward the end of August.
Individuals like Klahre believe there is enough time to heal the environment and help increase native pollinators like bees, but she does acknowledge the reality of having little to no pollinators.
“In China there are some areas that are so polluted that they actually have people that are going from flower to flower in orchards with feathers moving the pollen,” Klahre said. “I just never want us to get to that point.”
Water quality monitors take samples and check for bacteria. Photo from Sarah Ganong
It wasn’t pretty, but it was still pretty necessary.
More than 50 volunteers came together over the weekend to plant an acre of native Spartina cordgrass at Sunken Meadow State Park in Smithtown. The planting event was one of the first major public steps in a multiyear grant to restore river and marsh habitat and strengthen the park’s resilience to severe storms.
The $2.5 million project is funded by the Hurricane Sandy Competitive Grant Program and administered by Save the Sound with a team of governmental and nonprofit partners. Sunken Meadow State Park comprises 1,300 acres including the mouth of the Nissequogue River, salt and tidal marshes, dunes, coastal forest and three miles of Long Island Sound beachfront. Attracting over 2 million visitors a year, it is often dubbed the most popular state park in the New York City metro area.
Historically, Sunken Meadow Creek connected over 120 acres of marsh habitat with the Nissequogue estuary and the Sound, but in the 1950s, the Army Corps of Engineers built an earthen dike across the creek, restricting its tidal flow and fundamentally changing the marsh’s plant community, a spokeswoman for Save the Sound said. The Sunken Meadow Restoration team has been working since 2008 to restore tidal flow to the creek. Hurricane Sandy hit the park in October 2012. Its storm surge blew through the dike, fully reconnecting the marsh to the estuary for the first time in 60 years.
Volunteers take to Sunken Meadow State Park on Sunday to plant seeds for the future. Photo from Sarah Ganong
“Now that tidal flow is restored to Sunken Meadow Creek, we’re excited to combine marsh restoration, green infrastructure and public education to have an even greater impact,” said Gwen Macdonald, habitat restoration director for Save the Sound, a bi-state program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment. “It’s an amazing opportunity to show millions of people what a comprehensive program for a healthy coastal ecosystem can look like, with less water pollution, better tidal flow and vibrant marshes for thriving bird, fish and wildlife populations.”
Several environmental groups from state and local levels joined forces starting in 2012 to develop a plan to build on this reconnection and prepare the park’s ecosystem for future storms. The Sunken Meadow Comprehensive Resilience and Restoration Plan was established to manage stormwater, bulk up resilience of the marshes, explore improvements to riverine habitat and improve public knowledge and understanding of the ecological communites at the park.
“Today’s planting event is a first step in restoring historic tidal wetlands at Sunken Meadow State Park,” said Amanda Bassow, director of the northeastern regional office for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
“We are thrilled to be able to support this project in partnership with the Department of the Interior through the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant Program. The project will provide many benefits including strengthening natural coastal buffers to large storms, increasing wildlife habitat and improving water quality in the park and the surrounding waters of Long Island Sound.”
Sunday’s planting was not the only activity at the park this summer. New York Parks Department and Save the Sound have hired a summer education staffer to engage tourists and local students around issues of native versus invasive species, stormwater runoff, climate change preparedness and other topics, with a focus on opening opportunities for young nature lovers to become citizen-scientists.
The next step in the project, according to Save the Sound, is designing green infrastructure solutions for a 12-acre parking lot that drains into Sunken Meadow Creek. Incorporating stormwater best management practices in the design will reduce the pollutants that run off the parking lot and allow water to percolate into the ground, improving water quality in the creek for the wildlife that calls it home.
Prev
