Pollination Station – All Aboard!

Passersby on the B&A Millennium Legacy Trail recently were delighted to encounter a group of hardworking gardeners at the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks ranger station garden plots. It was time for change, and the Chartwell Garden Club (CGC) was up for the job!

The CGC was established in Severna Park in 1963 and currently has 25 active members. Among many other projects, the CGC has designed and maintained three plots by the Earleigh Heights station since the 1990s. The CGC has received recognition through various awards, and the CGC is one of 80 clubs in five districts across the state that make up the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland Inc. There are 10 garden clubs in District II of Anne Arundel County.

Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland volunteers take on projects that encourage the protection of our natural resources. They are committed to the preservation and protection of our roadsides and parks. The B&A Trail, right in our neck of the woods, was designated a Millennium Legacy Trail in 1998 in a ceremony at the ranger station led by then First Lady Hillary Clinton. It was a huge honor for our county to receive this recognition and Chartwell’s gardens were a focal point.

As our climate has changed over the decades, those of us who spend time in our yards and gardens have learned we need to adapt our plantings to encourage healthy biodiversity. Accordingly, the CGC gardeners tweak the plots every few years to be more environmentally friendly. For example, in 2007, volunteers redesigned the two triangles into butterfly gardens to aid in the preservation of the dwindling monarch butterfly population. Plantings in that spot need to withstand direct sunlight, thrive with limited watering, encourage pollination, and also create a happy place for bees and other insects that are so crucial for the survival of our planet.

We have COVID to thank for the latest reincarnation of the garden plots. Yes, COVID! With declining membership and in-person meetings on hold during the pandemic, the club’s funds also took a hit. Fundraising events were non-existent, so club members had to get creative. How could they work from home and still make a difference in the world?

After several brainstorming sessions in January 2022, the CGC decided to apply for a grant from Unity Gardens to help cover the costs of improving and updating their existing ranger station plots. Unity Gardens is an Anne Arundel County nonprofit that supports the creation of native gardens. Garden club members also made personal donations to match the grant and get the project off the ground (or in this case, “in the ground”). The CGC owes many thanks to the hard work of CGC member Sally Sachse, who put the grant proposal together. The project also owes a big thanks to local gardening enthusiasts Allison Milligan and Karen Royer, for the design work, expertise and guidance they provided.

The B&A Ranger Station portion of the trail now boasts an amazing biodiversity garden, chock-full of native plants to provide adequate food for important pollinators. So next time you are out for a walk or a bike ride on the trail, check out the hard work of those dedicated gardening volunteers. Here’s to many bees and butterflies in our future!