Wakeman Town Farm, Earthplace, and the Westport Garden Club have joined forces to put Westport on the Pollinator Pathway, a new initiative connecting communities in the effort to save pollinators and promote a healthier planet.

Pollinator pathways are pesticide-free corridors created from a network of public and private properties that provide native plant habitat and nutrition for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, birds and other creatures. More than 30 percent of our food grows as a result of pollinators’ work.

Wakeman Town Farm will host a series of events in March and April to cover sustainable landscaping and gardening practices vital to the health of pollinators. The schedule of events includes:

The Southport Globe Onion Initiative: Reviving the Prolific Heirloom in Westport, with Sefra Alexandra, will be held on Monday, March 4 at 7pm. The noble Southport Globe Onion is a regional staple heirloom that brought wealth and prominence to our historic agricultural area. Alexandra, a Cornell-educated ethnobotanist and Greens Farms resident, will discuss planting and stewarding the heirloom Southport Globe Onion variety. There is a $15 ticket fee for this event.

Spring Seed Sowing, with Linda Fleming, will be held on Monday, March 18 at 7pm. Fleming is a master at both gardening and storytelling. She will share lessons about herbs, seed starting, seed saving, growing, propagation and harvesting.

  Perennials that Bees Love & Deer Don’t will be held on Monday, March 25 at 7pm. Learn what to grow for a garden that’s not only beautiful but beneficial. Nathalie Fonteyne, UConn master gardener and master composter and perennials chair of the Westport Garden Club, will suggest perennials that will attract pollinators and birds to your garden (and not so many deer)! 

Going Native – The How & Why of Native Plants in the Landscape will be held Monday, April 8 at 7pm. Want to “go native” in your landscape, but not sure where to start? Bill Kenny, landscape architect, wetland and soil scientist and owner of native plant nursery in Fairfield, will discuss the whys and hows of using native plants in your yard to give nature a hand, welcome beneficial pollinators, and add beauty. This class is free, but registration is required.

Most of the classes are appropriate for adults (grade school-aged children and above are welcome if accompanied by an adult/guardian).

For more information or to register for any event, visit WakemanTownFarm.org/Events. Location: Wakeman Town Farm, 134 Cross Hwy, Westport.