November 27, 2023
By Michelle Hill, POL Contributor

Action 5 implores us to reach out to our family, friends, neighbors, and larger community to build a network of energized, motivated people ready to act for the survival of our pollinators and other insect life. A community of gardener activists can achieve so much more than even the most perfect island paradise if that paradise exists in isolation.

WE can and must remove invasives, provide native plants that support life, reduce excessive light pollution, and reduce our dependence on chemical applications. In doing so we offer a pathway towards survival for the pollinators and ourselves.

Let’s meet two individuals in neighboring counties who have fully invested themselves in building community. 

Licking County Pollinator Pathway

Susan Studer King, of Licking County, was a long-time gardener growing cut-flowers when she read Douglas Tallamy’s book, Nature’s Best Hope. She immediately felt compelled to share what she had learned with her husband and child. Tallamy has a way of conveying scientific information that is both well-respected by the scientific community and easily digestible by the average reader. Check out his video for a deeper understanding of our call to action. 

Thankfully, Susan’s family felt the same obligation to do more. Her husband, an employee of Denison University, reached out the next day to Tallamy himself. Susan got right to work setting up a small committee representing green groups in her county. As an advisor for 4-H, she had hands-on experience leading and organizing.

On December 5, 2022, Tallamy spoke to a crowd of nearly 600 people at Denison. His words left those in attendance feeling energized and enthusiastic to take the next steps towards supporting their local ecosystem and building a larger movement.

Emboldened to capitalize on the buzz generated by Tallamy’s appearance, the committee met frequently. In February 2023, the group formally blossomed into the Licking County Pollinator Pathway. The LCPP includes fourteen different organizations: Licking Land Trust, Dawes Arboretum, Licking Park District, Denison University, The Ohio State University at Newark, Granville Public Library, Sanctuary Garden at Newark High School, Licking Soil & Water Conservation District, Granville Schools Sustainability Project, Ace of Clubs 4-H, Otterbein Granville, 1500 Trees, Grange Insurance Audubon Center, and Licking County Master Gardener Volunteers. 

The LCPP helps property owners big and small to engage in land stewardship practices that will benefit the whole community.  The LCPP coordinates the collected efforts of private citizens, public and private spaces, businesses and residents alike, all who have come to the understanding that together we can create something beautiful and necessary. Just this year, Susan has seen evidence of that movement in the lawns around her home. People feel empowered to be part of something positive.

The Licking County Pollinator Pathway efforts are reproducible and well worth the effort. Such initiatives are taking off worldwide. We have an opportunity here in Fairfield County to (as Susan says) participate in a “tangible and doable way to make a difference”.

For more information on what good work the Licking County Pollinator Pathway is doing and how to get involved in upcoming events visit https://www.lickingpollinatorpathway.org/

Connecting Community Corridor for People Pollinators, and the Planet

Dianne Kadonaga, of Sunny Glen Garden in Linden, Ohio, works tirelessly to support pollinators, fostering an impressive amount of native flora and fauna on her own urban property. She provides educational outreach opportunities and with the support of a committed group of volunteers she raises 4,000 native plants annually to sell and to donate, all while remaining conscious of her carbon footprint. Dianne even challenges herself to go waste-free by reusing all her single-use plastic trash. Plastic salad tubs, cottage cheese, yogurt, and Tofu containers are all used in the propagation of her native plants. It all adds to the charm of the Sunny Glen Garden.

Dianne works with the Soil and Water Conservation District of Franklin County as well as SWACO to help members of her community learn what they can and should do to repurpose and reduce our waste production. Community members are then able to put that knowledge into action – actions that are protective of our watersheds like the installation of rain gardens, improvement of soil health through composting, and landfill intake reduction by reducing food waste through learning food preservation techniques.

In 2022, Dianne started the Connecting Community Corridor for People, Pollinators, and the Planet also known as CCC for PPP. Her organization connects a growing number of members of her community including individuals, families, organizations, businesses, schools, and churches. One at a time, they are learning and growing a healthier environment in Franklin County.  CCC for PPP has led native plantings initiatives that have transforming once-dead, monoculture lawns into habitat sanctuaries. All the while, she remains humble, kind, and patient. 

When asked about suggestions for ways people can encourage involvement in their communities Dianne had this to say:

“The CCC for PPP is built on partnerships – many with different missions and goals, but native plants, increasing biodiversity, food security, gardens for climate change resiliency allow us to work on projects together for a bigger cause. It’s really about networking relationships, finding common ground, and seeing how and what we can coordinate together to reach more people and be more inclusive… I can’t believe the luck I’ve had meeting amazing and inspiring people, who have been willing to partner on projects – you never know what is possible or how people can link you to others, so I would say, just describe your ideas and potential projects to anyone willing to listen and see what comes!”

The organization’s efforts have garnered further growth and praise in her organization. CCC for PPP has a wide array of partnerships: OSU Master Gardener Volunteers, Pollinator Specialization Advocates, Franklin Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Endangered Species Coalition, The Ohio Reformatory for Women, 4 H Youth Development Far East Club, Cooperative Gardens Commission, Simply Living, Greater Columbus Growing Coalition, The Urban Farm Church, Care and Share Timebank, and Stinner’s Climate Ambassadors

Dianne’s tireless efforts have been receiving accolades within her community:

• The Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteers Project of the Year Excellence Winner in the Large County Environmental Horticulture Category to the Connecting Community Corridor for People, Pollinators and the Planet
• Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District Conservation Stewardship Award to Dianne Kadonaga
• 2023 – Outstanding Master Gardener of the Year awarded to Dianne Kadonaga The Ohio State University Extension Franklin County Master Gardeners 
• 2023 Outstanding Project of the Year Award to the Connecting Community Corridor for People, Pollinators and the Planet.”
• Featured in 2023 Seeds of Change: The Power of Women’s Voices Exhibit at OSU and SWACO Community Voices.

Dianne works with fellow volunteers to maintain area native gardens and provide invaluable access to education both online and in person.

Are you interested in learning more about the native plants movement and what you can do to support our pollinators in a changing climate? Then head to Dianne’s website where you will find educational information, opportunities to donate your time, purchase native plants, and get involved in all the wonderful work she is doing in her community.

If you have a question, as a Master Gardener of Franklin County, she is there to offer advice and guidance. Check out Sunny Glen Garden for your next native plant purchase and some well-informed guidance today. 

For success in Fairfield County, we need collective community engagement, especially from the City of Pickerington. Our city can and should be leading by example.

Are you interested in providing habitat for pollinators and other life? Please reach out today! Join the Pro Pollinator Initiative of Pickerington, Ohio on Facebook today. 

To read previous editions of “Growing Hope”, please click on the links below.

• Reducing Light Polution
• Plant the Plants That Do the Most Good
• Impact Climate Change in Your Own Backyard
• Removing Invasives
• Lawn Reduction

Michelle Hill is the founder of the local Pro Pollinator Initiative which is a group working to plant pollinator gardens throughout the Pickerington area. This summer, they will plant native flower beds at Toll Gate Elementary School, Lakeview Junior High School and the main branch of the Pickerington Public Library.

She is also the acting president of Greener Violet, a newly-formed Pickerington-based environmental organization combining a variety of ecological interests including invasive plant remediation and watershed protection.

To learn more about either organization or to ask a question specific to your situation, please email Michelle at pro.pollinator.initiative@gmail.com.

Growing Hope logo created by Dawnette Fleischer