Pollinator Pathway

Towns of Addison County join in creating a Pollinator Pathway throughout the county! 

We call ourselves PPAC, a shortened version of our official name, Pollinator Pathway of Addison County. Addison County is in Vermont’s southern Champlain Valley. Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains form the county’s western border, the Green Mountains the eastern. 

PPAC’s Steering Committee meets monthly. At meetings representatives learn first-hand of projects underway in public places and private spaces throughout the county. Tours of private gardens were offered over the summer providing inspiration to all who could participate. To inquire about our stewardship efforts for stemming the steep decline in pollinator populations, please email us, PPAC, at pollinatorpathway.addisoncty@gmail.com. 

We acknowledge and express appreciation for the vision and tenacity of PPAC’s three co-founders, Bethany Barry, Fran Putnam, and Brett Gilman. Bethany and Fran are Addison County residents, Brett is a junior at Middlebury College with a dual concentration in Socio-Ecological Studies and Architectural Studies. During his secondary schooling in Connecticut Brett volunteered in a program run by the founder of Pollinator Pathway, Donna Merrill. Brett invited Donna and others he knew to share their expertise with us through a virtual presentation. A series of talks was organized and successfully presented to a large web audience thanks to the collaboration of PPAC’s awesome threesome. 

To view PPAC’s Spring 2022 webinar series, click the links provided below. 

Pollinator Pathway: Bee the Change-Addison County Donna Merrill, the founder of Pollinator Pathway, explained what a pollinator pathway is and how to go about implementing one in your area. 

The Green Corridor: Improving Biodiversity in Backyards and Protected Lands Mary Ellen Lemay of Connecticut based Aspetuck Land Trust. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRHMTIlOYjA 

Ecotypes, Ecoregions, Ecological Restoration: The Ecotype Project “Seed Huntress”, Sefra Alexandra. 

Planting for Pollinators in Vermont Emily May of the Xerces Society

The twenty-one municipalities of Addison County sit on land that belongs to the Western Abenaki the traditional caretakers of these Vermont lands and waters, which they call N’dakina or “homeland”. The land has served as a site of meeting and exchange among indigenous peoples since time immemorial. We remember their connection to this region and the hardships they continue to endure. We give thanks for the opportunity to share in the bounty of this place and to protect it. We are all one in the sacred web of life that connects people, animals, plants, air, water, and earth.