Kerry Wilson (Delaware Nature Society, left), Shweta Arya (Delaware Interfaith Power & Light, kneeling), and David Kee (Delaware Interfaith Power & Light, right) join community members in front of the Temple United Church sign

Pollinator Gardening as a Spiritual Practice

Spiritual Communities Help Pollinators Through Sacred Grounds

Delaware Nature Society helps bring native gardens to Wilmington’s faith communities through Sacred Grounds Wilmington, a National Wildlife Federation (NWF) program.  Reporter Danielle Wendt speaks about the program and the mini-grants supporting these gardens in the NWF article “Planting Spirituality in Pollinator Gardens.”

Why a Network of Small Pollinator Gardens is Important

In her article, Wendt stresses the importance of a network of gardens large and small to Delaware’s pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Creating a corridor is vital to native pollinators’ survival. Native pollinators and native plants have matured together over thousands of years. The pollinators form strong evolutionary bonds to the plants, and most require specific plant species in order to survive—to nest, to feed, and/or to lay their eggs.

For migratory pollinators like the monarch butterfly, pollinator corridors become rest stops along their migratory highways, providing much-needed shelter during their travels. Most lawns are heavily manicured, forming roads of unusable monoculture without a single stop for pollinators, so intentional corridors like Sacred Grounds Wilmington give native pollinators the opportunity to thrive in urban settings.

Environmental Justice for Under-resourced Communities

DelNature’s Kerry Wilson, Habitat Outreach Manager, discusses the importance of this funding to under-resourced communities.

“The federal funding in Wilmington is bringing resources to communities that have been historically under-resourced while also encountering environmental injustices in some areas. This funding not only brings funds but also allows us to build partnerships with communities that we may not have had the resources to work with in the past.”

DelNature is Supporting Sacred Grounds Efforts

Alongside DelNature, NWF, Delaware Interfaith Power & Light (DeIPL), and Delaware Center for Horticulture (DCH) are providing support to communities in implementing their gardens and engaging their community members.

Read the full National Wildlife Federation article, “Planting Spirituality in Pollinator Gardens”

Learn more about Gardening for Water and Wildlife and our annual Native Plant Sales.