AVALON – Responding to the alarming recent declines in pollinator populations, Mayor Martin Pagliughi came to the Avalon Borough Council meeting Oct. 11 to announce a new environmental program.
The borough proposes to create a pollinator-friendly area in the northwestern section of Armacost Park. The plan provides valuable habitat that will be especially valuable for migratory pollinators like the monarch butterflies who use coastal New Jersey as a vital stopping point in their long-distance migrations.
Pagliughi also pointed to the educational component of the borough’s plan. “We are going to use this as an education program for the public as well,” he said. The hope is that the project will encourage the public to support the creation of pollinator habitat throughout the area.
Scott Taylor, of Taylor Design Group, presented the plan to council. Taylor spoke of pollinator species decline as “an indicator of environmental problems down the road.”
The plan calls for using an open area of the park at 71st Street and Ocean Drive for planting flora appropriate for nesting as well as “protein-rich pollen and carbohydrate-rich nectar, critical food resources for a variety of resident and migratory pollinator species.”
An added goal of the project is that it will provide these ecological benefits in “an attractive park setting” that will actually require less maintenance. “You would mow this area about once a year,” said Taylor.
The project would involve removal of the existing lawn in the area to allow soil preparation and the planting of pollinator species flora. A new sidewalk, educational signage, and benches would create an attractive environment in the park. The interpretative signage would even take a butterfly shape.
The state has been increasing pollinator-friendly habitat in state parks. This plan at a municipal level is a welcome addition, according to state representatives.
Given the importance of pollinators to our food supply chain, all were in agreement on the importance of the dual goals to increase habitat for pollinators and to better educate the public on the need for action.
Avalon intends to complete the project over the next several months with the goal of having the new park area in operation next spring or summer.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
