The Barrington Land Conservation Trust, in collaboration with the Barrington Farm School, is excited to announce Barrington’s first of its kind Pollinator Pathway Tour. This Sunday, Sept. 15, from 12 to 5:30 p.m., participants in the self-guided tour will have a unique opportunity to visit 14 public and private spaces being created and tended with nature in mind. The event will begin and end at the Barrington Farm School at 100 Federal Road.

The 14 spaces on the tour are not traditional gardens, and this is not a traditional garden tour. Each place and each person on the tour is a bit different, but what they all have in common is a desire to use their space to benefit nature and to bolster our community’s resiliency goals. Pollinators are essential to the health and well-being of our planet and its many inhabitants. The job of building back suitable habitat for pollinators to survive and thrive begins right outside of our own doors.

Some of the featured pollinator habitats have been in the making for more than 25 years, while others will be planted just days before the event. There are town and school owned spaces, conservation spaces, and private residences alike on the tour. These are not just flower gardens; they are patches of hope in trying ecological times.

Barrington was the first town in Rhode Island to officially launch a Pollinator Pathway chapter, joining communities across America in this effort. Since launching, the Barrington Pathway has grown to include more than 70 spaces, including the 14 that will be highlighted on the tour. All are part of a rapidly growing effort to utilize the spaces where we live, work, learn, worship and play to help weave back habitat that has been lost to development and habitat fragmentation. Habitats become fragmented by buildings, roadways and even landscapes dominated by turf grass and ornamental plantings.

The real beauty of spaces designed to support pollinator populations is that they also do so much more. The shared principles of stops on a pollinator pathway are the addition of native plants, the removal of invasive plants, elimination of pesticides and a rethinking of both the size of the lawn area and the management of what lawn remains. Spaces like these sequester carbon, filter pollution and reduce stormwater runoff. They are great for human health and are especially good for the mental health and wellbeing of children, who thrive with time in nature. Pollinator habitats are also bird friendly spaces, supporting populations of nesting and migratory songbirds.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested and can be completed through the Land Trust website at www.blct.org. Participants will pick up a map of the tour stops on the day of the event at the Farm School. From there they will set out to explore a series of buzzworthy spaces in all corners of the town. At the end of the tour, participants will gather back at the Farm to share stories about their afternoon adventures and to collectively brainstorm ways we can all work together to grow the Pathway initiative.

Gail Read, co-President of the Barrington Farm School Board, expressed her delight in being able to serve as the host site for this tour. “Building a strong sense of community is central to the work that the Farm School does every day. And that sense of shared community spirit is essential to the success of the Pollinator Pathway Project. As an organic, regenerative, teaching farm we understand the importance of pollinator health and place great value on respecting and protecting land through thoughtful gardening practices,” she said.

The tour has been spearheaded by Cindy Pierce, a member of the Barrington Land Conservation Trust board. She expressed her hope that people will be inspired by viewing the spaces, some created by people with limited gardening experience, and many less than a year old. She hopes people will walk away with an understanding that native plants are just as beautiful as ornamentals and provide so much more benefit to the planet. She went on to ponder, “Why wouldn’t people want both beauty and benefits? We want people to walk away excited and ready to go home and start digging. Even a few native plants can make a difference.”

Register to join the tour by visiting www.blct.org.

“Life in the Garden” brings eco-friendly garden tips from Cindy and Ed Moura of Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium, where they are passionate about helping people realize the essential role everyone can play in supporting life right outside their own doors.