Glastonbury Pollinator Pathway, a group within TALK, has many activities going on that we are excited to share with you. Formed in December 2020, our work focuses on creating habitat for pollinators, educating the community, and helping residents plant native species in their gardens while avoiding pesticides to increase biodiversity and support pollinators.
We have four native gardens in town, one at Minnechaug Golf Course, one at the House Street trail, and two at First Church Glastonbury that we planted several years ago. They are now beautifully established and teeming with life. It’s wonderful to watch all the bees, butterflies and other pollinators going about their daily lives as they move from flower to flower.
As we head into spring, we have already started preparing for this year’s fall native plant sale. In January, we planted native seeds in large trays and kept them outside, where they were promptly buried under two feet of snow. This overwintering process, also known as cold stratification, mimics the natural process the seeds go through by exposing them to cold, moist conditions so they will germinate in the spring. In July we will transplant them into individual pots. By the time our plant sale arrives on Saturday, September 12, we will have at least 1,500 plants available. We will be located outside the main entrance of Town Hall from 9–3. Last year we sold out by 11:30!
Education is also a big part of what we do, and we have several programs coming up this spring.
We have two Glastonbury Adult Continuing Education classes scheduled in March and April. Classes cost $15 each, and registration can be made online at www.glastonburyus.org/adulted or by phone at 860-652-7253.
“Grow Your Own Native Garden,” will be presented by Allen Blake of Bartlett Trees and Ted Johnson of Wildscape Artisans. They will talk about the importance of native woody shrubs and will demonstrate pruning techniques and general care. Each participant will also receive a native shrub to take home. This class will take place Thursday, March 26 from 7–8:30 at Glastonbury High School.
Our second class, “Butterfly Gardens are for the Birds,” will be presented by Margery Winters of the Roaring Brook Nature Center. She will talk about butterfly gardens and the important role caterpillars play in supporting birds. This class will take place Monday, April 27 from 7–8:30 at Glastonbury High School.
We also have several free events coming up.
On Sunday, April 12 at 11:30, Ted Johnson of Wildscape Artisans will present a Micah Moment slideshow called “What’s a Native Plant?” at the Micah House, located at 2169 Main Street, next door to First Church Glastonbury.
In honor of Earth Day, we are teaming up with the Welles-Turner Memorial Library for a screening of the film “The Extraordinary Caterpillar.” The program will include the one-hour film followed by a half-hour Q&A led by lepidopterist Jim Sirch. This event takes place Wednesday, April 22 from 6:30–8. Registration is required and will open on March 25 through the library.
TALK will be teaming up with Glastonbury Parks and Recreation to celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary with a free native shrub and tree sapling giveaway on Saturday, April 25 from 9–12 on the north side of the Town Hall parking lot. We will have blackhaw viburnums, redosier dogwoods, eastern redbuds, and white flowering dogwoods available. Stop by and pick one up while supplies last!
You can also find us out in the community this spring. Members of TALK’s Environmental Action Team and the Pollinator Pathway group will have a table at the Health and Wellness Fair at the Riverfront Community Center on Thursday, March 26 from 2–5. We will have lots of information to share, including a Scavenger Hunt page that you can complete throughout the summer. Bring it to our Native Plant Sale in September to show us what you’ve found, and you’ll receive a free native plant to bring home.
Another fun way to participate is through our Bee Map of Glastonbury. If you have native plants in your yard and would like to be included, please reach out to us. Our map already shows nearly 90 bee icons representing native gardens all around town, and we would love to add more. You can view the map on the town website here: https://www.glastonburyct.gov/departments/department-directory-i-z/parks-and-recreation/trees/native-plants
We will also have informational tables at the three garden club plant sales this May:
• Hill & Dale Garden Club on Saturday, May 2 from 9–12 at Hubbard Green
• Evergreen Country Gardeners on Saturday, May 9 from 9–12 at 2400 Main Street
• Glastonbury Garden Club on Saturday, May 16 from 9–12 at Hubbard Green
This year we are also excited to offer a $500 scholarship for a Glastonbury High School student who plans to pursue studies in an environmentally related field.
Over the past year we have also donated books to the library and held a children’s program where we read the book Miss Rumphius and talked about how she scattered lupine seeds wherever she went to make the world a more beautiful place.
Looking ahead, there are even more opportunities to get involved. On Wednesday, April 8 from 7–8:30 at the Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Steve Lewis, Chairperson of the Sierra Club Hartford Group, will lead a training on how to use iNaturalist in preparation for the City Nature Challenge, a global citizen science project taking place April 24–27. Go to this link for more information about the City Nature Challenge: https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/124198-save-the-dates-for-the-2026-city-nature-challenge. No registration is necessary for the library event.
We have many more ideas, including another children’s library program and possible field trips to The Caterpillar Lab in New Hampshire and the Farmington Land Trust.
We always love welcoming new members to our group, so please reach out if you are interested in getting involved at glastonburypollinatorpathway@gmail.com.
You can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Gpollinatorpathway or Instagram at @glastonburypollinatorpathway.