The North Shore Garden Club (NSGC), Manchester Conservation Commission and the Department of Public Works have begun a test project to convert some of the town’s mown grass areas into “pollinator habitat.”
The first test site is located on Lincoln Street, between the high school and Manchester Memorial Elementary School and the site was seeded on November 20 by the NSGC. Only a portion has been seeded this year, as the remainder needs to be “solarized” with tarping to kill the abundance of invasive species before seeding that section next fall. The NSGC customized the seed mix to exclude any non-native species and to attract the widest range of pollinators.
The group expressed a big “thanks” to Chuck Dam, director of the Manchester Department of Public Works and the DPW for their hard work clearing the site, and the Conservation Commission for its guidance.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, lawns may be green but they’re terrible for the environment. There is more grass in America than the entire national park system. Also, the agency reports that one third of all public water in the United States is used to water grass, consuming nearly 9 billion gallons of water a day, and our mowers consume 200 million gallons of gas.
This coming spring, the NSGC will post signage about the project along with directions on how converting mown grass to pollinator habitat can be a huge benefit to dwindling butterflies, bumble bees and other pollinators.
The North Shore Garden Club (NSGC) started with a meeting in the living room of Mrs. Philip Dexter, of Manchester, in 1915. Over one hundred years later the club is still going strong. As a member of the Garden Club of America (GCA), the NSGC follows the GCA mission of leadership in horticulture, conservation, and civic improvement.