On a sunny morning at the Lead Mills property, a former industrial site turned conservation area, volunteers Mary Krull and Patricia Hines carefully tend to a patch of wildflowers. Their work is part of a growing movement across Marblehead to create pollinator-friendly landscapes using native plants.
“We’re slowly trying to reclaim this field,” Krull said, gesturing to the five-acre expanse around her. “We’re taking it now piece by piece to try to get rid of all the invasives, meaning things that are not from around here and are taking over, and replace them with native pollinators, native to Massachusetts.”
This effort at Lead Mills is just one example to support local ecosystems and the crucial pollinators they sustain, they said. Pollinators are organisms that help transfer pollen from one flower to another, facilitating the fertilization process essential for plant reproduction and the production of fruits and seeds, according to MassAudobon.
From public spaces to private gardens, Marblehead is experiencing a native plant revolution, according to Susan Fitzgerald, a horticulture specialist at Marblehead Garden Center.
The movement towards pollinator-friendly landscaping has been gaining momentum in Marblehead over the past few years, driven by environmental concerns and a growing awareness of the threats facing pollinator populations.
“We’re seeing bees disappear,” said Fitzgerald. “We used to see them everywhere. Now, you can really tell where they are — they’re going to where the native plants are.”
Native plants, which have evolved alongside local pollinators, are particularly effective at attracting and supporting these insects. Common examples in Marblehead include asters, goldenrod and milkweed.
‘Adapting to the times’
The efforts at Lead Mills will create not only a sea of vibrant colors for people to enjoy but also an oasis of pollen and nectar for pollinators. The property will include milkweed for monarch butterflies, goldenrod for ladybugs and moths and golden Alexander for sweat bees. The variety’s bloom sustains pollinators — beetles, birds, bees and butterflies — throughout the growing season.
Patricia Hines emphasized the unique beauty of these native plantings.
“It’s not such a typical garden that you normally see, but it certainly is extraordinary,” Hines said. “It makes you more close to nature and getting back to the earth..”
The Lead Mills project, headed up by Marblehead Conservancy, is based on research by the Gegear Lab at UMass Dartmouth, focusing on supporting specific bumblebee species whose populations have declined dramatically in recent decades.
“There are some [bumblebees] that are doing very well, and their populations haven’t decreased in the last couple decades,” Krull explained. “And then there’s a few whose populations have plummeted like, there’s 5% of what they were 20 years ago. And a lot of that is, their flowers that they depend on aren’t around.”
The Driftwood Garden Club, a local organization celebrating over 60 years of community service, has also embraced this trend. Kathy Bradford, co-chair of the club’s conservation working group, explained their efforts at the Abbot Public Library.
“We’re adapting to the times,” Bradford said. “We know that the climate is changing. So the plants in the front are going to be drought tolerant, and whatever new plants that go in are also going to be drought tolerant, too.”
The club is planning to install perennials in the library’s courtyard this September, focusing on native species that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Bradford hopes to add educational signage to help visitors identify the plants and understand their importance.
At Devereux School, a pollinator garden serves as both a haven for insects and an outdoor classroom. Kasey Sampson, a fourth and fifth-grade teacher, uses the garden to teach students about local ecology and history.
“I teach the kids about the herbs and the history about everything,” Sampson said. She pointed out a patch of goldenrod, explaining, “Goldenrod has medicinal properties. It helps with seasonal allergies and sinus congestion. Goldenrod was one of the herbs that the colonists used after the Boston Tea Party.”
The school’s garden, which includes milkweed, bee balm, asters and goldenrod, was initially planted by parent volunteer and Swampscott resident Suzanne Hale. It has since received certification as a monarch butterfly garden.
“The kids really love to try to find the butterfly eggs on the milkweed,” Sampson said. “That supports the monarchs’ total life cycle.”
‘We are nature’
Monarch butterflies have a special relationship with milkweed, relying on it exclusively for laying eggs and as a food source for their caterpillars. This symbiotic relationship highlights the importance of preserving native plant species.
The trend towards native plantings isn’t limited to public spaces. Many homeowners are rethinking their landscaping choices, opting for pollinator-friendly gardens over traditional lawns and ornamental plants.
“People are willing to forego an evergreen or have a summer flowering shrub to put in pollinators and let it grow,” Fitzgerald noted. She’s observed an increasing demand for native plants at the garden center, with customers specifically asking for pollinator-friendly options.
This shift in gardening practices is not just about aesthetics. Pollinators play a crucial role in food production, as Fitzgerald explained: “Anybody who likes to eat needs pollinators. That’s how they pollinate for the growth of the fruit and or the flower on a plant.”
Indeed, pollinators are essential for the reproduction of many crops. According to Mass Audubon, animals — primarily bees — pollinate a majority of fruits and vegetables used in agriculture.
However, pollinator populations face numerous threats, including habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. Mass Audubon reports that populations of three bumblebee species in the eastern United States have declined by over 90% in the past 30 years.
In response to these challenges, local environmental groups are taking action. Sustainable Marblehead, a grassroots organization promoting environmental sustainability, has been advocating for native plantings and pollinator-friendly practices.
Evans Slepian, co-chair of Sustainable Marblehead’s conservation working group, emphasized the interconnectedness of ecosystems and human well-being.
“We are nature,” Slepian said. “It’s a very closed point of view to imagine us as separate from nature or as people who are above nature in any kind of way. We are animals, and we are impacted by these things just as much as they are.”
