Pollinator Pathway

Mayo Beach Park is predominantly a swimming beach. But back before the county

owned the land, it was a hopping private recreational swimming area, with baseball fields, a large playground, concession stands, and areas to grill a delicious meal. When Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks purchased the land, the vision changed and the ball fields became simply mowed fields that were, maybe occasionally, used for overflow parking. In an effort to add habitat and reduce the amount of mowing, AACO Recreation and Park Superintendent Karen Jarboe, decided to turn the field into pollinator plots that would serve as spaces for environmental education, interpretation opportunities for rangers, and beautiful spaces for beach goers to connect with nature beyond the beach. 

The project was initially coordinated through a grant for Anne Arundel County’s Green

Infrastructure. Jonas Lai, who was the green infrastructure liaison, and Superintendent Jarboe worked together to create a vision for the space. He then partnered with Lauren Toomey of RePollinate Anne Arundel and the USGS Native Bee Lab who shared their unique planting methods, which were utilized on site. This included creating a perimeter of mulch to plant mature plants, leaving the inside of the plot to be tilled and seeded with a native pollinator mix. The idea is that the mature plants will disseminate their seeds into the interior of the plot, naturally creating more diversity as the plots mature.

The project has been overwhelmingly successful and needs little maintenance from year

to year. There are more plots to be created. The park will maintain the same methods; however, volunteers from other organizations such as the Arundel River Federation, Scouts of America, and the Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps have and will continue to donate plants, materials, and people hours.

In 2024 Mayo Beach Park completed a shoreline restoration project to maintain the sandy beaches that make the beach park a sought after swimming location; however, a portion of the shoreline project included creating a living shoreline where there once was a swimming beach. This area was at the southern most end of the beach. It sustained most wave action and erosion as the park is at the mouth of the South River along the Chesapeake Bay. It also left a platform for nesting Osprey exposed to human interaction from beach goers. To protect the Osprey and prevent further erosion, the Park Superintendent decided to turn this section into a living shoreline.

To create the shoreline, the gap between the two rocky barriers that let in water to the shoreline was reduced and native grasses, along with native bay berry bushes were planted in the sandy horseshoe shape that the rock barriers created. A fence was put up to protect the grasses, reduce movement of sand, and define the space. One year after planting, the shoreline is in excellent condition and the nesting Osprey were more than happy to find a secluded location to raise their young after their long migration from the south.

Riva Trace Native Planting Erosion Control Demonstration Garden

This garden is a demonstration on how to control soil erosion and prevent sediment from entering storm drains by planting native ground covers and shrubs.