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“It was really exciting,” said Wassenaar.
“We started with zero species on this
asphalt parkway and now we can start
counting what kinds of animals we attract.”
Animals included hummingbirds, which
had not been seen in the area before.
The larger garden beautifies the
community and provides pollinators with
more habitat and essential sources of food.
Besides the Blue Island Public Library,
Communities & Nature partners include
public libraries in Brookfield, Berwyn,
Evergreen Park, La Grange, Lansing,
Maywood, Melrose Park, Morton Grove,
Orland Park, and Riverside. The initiative
is expanding to include even more libraries
and organizations, said Copeland.

a
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lli
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Pollination
o
St a t i o n s
Stations
The Communities & Nature initiative has
two parts, or tiers. The Pollination Station
Network is part of a global conservation
movement that aims to halt and reverse
the alarming decline in the numbers of
pollinators caused by habitat loss, pesticide
use, and other factors.
“We use the garden to showcase
Pollinators—including bees, moths, what people can do to reduce the effects Naturally Naturally
butterflies, bats, and birds—are essential
Neighbors
to life. As they move from plant to plant of climate change,” said Wassenaar. For N e i g h b o r s
feeding on nectar and pollen, their bodies example, a tree was planted to demonstrate
pick up and deposit pollen, which results that planting trees can lower energy usage Naturally Neighbors, the other tier of
in pollination. According to the U.S. and costs. Communities & Nature, offers hands-on
Forest Service, more than 150 fruit and “Because of Communities & Nature, workshops that engage children in conser-
grain crops grown in the U.S. depend we’ve added native plants to our seed library vation learning in their own communities.
on pollinators. and encourage people to plant native The workshops are developed and
Pollinator-garden plants are specially plants in their own yards,” said Wassenaar. facilitated by Copeland and his staff.
selected to provide pollinators with The library maintains a library of seeds “Engaging in a workshop helps them
habitat and nourishment. These gardens that people can take home to plant. understand their connections with nature
support the Chicago Zoological Society’s Brookfield Zoo staff have created
conservation mission and contribute to attractive signage for display in the gardens
the Illinois Monarch Project’s habitat to educate visitors about plants and
restoration and conservation efforts. pollinators and their role in ecosystems.
The gardens are great places to conduct
environmental education. “Through pro-
gramming involving the garden, members
of the community can participate in
citizen-science experiments and nature
observation,” said Wassenaar.

22 GATEWAYS | COMMUNITIES & NATURE