LEYDEN — The Selectboard has agreed to participate in a regional program aimed at increasing pollinator gardens in the county.
The Franklin Conservation District, a state-organized entity that works with landowners and communities in Franklin County on conservation efforts, was recently awarded a $40,000 grant from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, according to David Pomerantz, a member of the district’s board of supervisors. The grant would serve to both install and maintain pollinator gardens, as well as to facilitate educational programs to help get residents involved.
To date, Deerfield Elementary and Hawlemont Regional schools are on board to participate in the pollinator program, he said. Ultimately, the Franklin Conservation District hopes to work with four to five municipalities and as many as 35 residences.
“The grant has money for landscape designers,” he told the Selectboard on Monday, noting the initial planting effort will require volunteers.
Pomerantz said the plant species and overall design would start in the fall, with planting to occur in the spring. He relayed to Selectboard members his own experience planting a pollinator garden.
“In the nine weeks since we planted our garden,” Pomerantz said, “it’s amazing how many bees and butterflies have shown up, even with the weather we’ve had.”
Selectboard member Glenn Caffery commented that joining the initiative isn’t only “what we should be doing,” but also a “demonstration of a model that works.”
Pomerantz agreed, noting pollinator gardens are becoming a growing trend.
“The word is spreading,” he said.
The Conservation Commission and Selectboard met briefly Monday night to discuss the growing concern for the invasive species Japanese knotweed on public roads.
Conservation Commission member Evan Abrahams said the commission was advocating for the town to purchase a sickle bar mower to cut the Japanese knotweed, so pieces can be collected, dried out and burned. The plant is likely to grow back and spread if stems are left behind after mowing.
“This has been proven … to work in other states,” he said.
Along North County Road, for example, Abrahams said there’s upwards of 200 feet of Japanese knotweed that’s about 10 feet deep.
The equipment, he noted, would need to be purchased through the Highway Department budget, though he noted labor would also be a significant factor in how the invasive species is removed.
Selectboard members, who seemed receptive to finding potential solutions, said they need more information on costs and to confer with the Highway Department before taking any vote.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.