LYNCHBURG GARDEN CLUB & HILLSIDE GARDEN CLUB
Roadside Biodiversity Native Perennial Beds
The 2021 winning project is Roadside Biodiversity Native Perennial Beds, submitted by Lynchburg Garden Club & Hillside Garden Club in partnership with the City of Lynchburg, LEAF, Crowther Landscape Architecture and Irvington Springs Farm. The clubs have completed Phase I, in 2019, with the establishment of three acres of roadside pollinator beds. Phase II will install a large demonstration bed along a Lynchburg highway traveled by 40,000 daily drivers. The bed will feature non-GMO/non-Neonicotinoid native perennials, shrubs and trees. Throughout the year, the plants will provide food and habitat for insects and wildlife. The faded plant material will be left intact in winter to provide wildlife habitat. The community of Lynchburg will be educated about the New Perennial Movement and the importance of promoting biodiversity in the local ecosystem. The partnerships that the clubs are working with are delivering over $30,000 of savings over retail cost and underscore the commitment to diversity in the community. The clubs will package and promote the planting list as a pollinator bed online project for home gardens. This developed model can be a resource that can be scaled for statewide highways and residential gardens. As stated in their application: “With this project, we hope to serve as a leadership model in the state, working with local and state officials in reducing alien planting, planting native plants, and providing pollinator habitat across the state, linking our highways and garden clubs across the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Pictured are Hillside Garden Club President Sarah Hellewell, GCV President Missy Buckingham and The Lynchburg Garden Club President Jenny Tugman
