Green Lakes State Park Pollinator Project

    Hello there!  I'm Nandika Rajaram, and I'm a high schooler with a passion for science, technology, and the environment. Want to hear something crazy? Despite the fact that every plant dies the minute I touch it, I managed to build a pollinator garden at Green Lakes State Park in Upstate New York! How, may you ask? Well, this started out as a silver award project in 2021. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a project that a Girl Scout does that is supposed to benefit the community and the world around them long term. So not something temporary like a food drive, but something permanent... like a home for pollinators and a thriving ecosystem! I researched on the possibilities, and found out that Green Lakes State Park, a place that attracts about 800,000 visitors each year, didn't have a pollinator garden. GASP! What?! Such a beautiful park with a focus on the ecosystem DOESN'T have a pollinator garden? Pollinators are crucial to the environment as they help plants reproduce by spreading their pollen around, hence the name "pollinators". So of course, I wrote a few emails to people who actually knew things about plants, rolled up my sleeves, pulled out some weeds and learned a lot in the process! But of course, I couldn't have done it on my own....

People Involved

And YES!!! We are OPEN! We opened the garden to the public on September 21, 2024. Anyone visiting the park, be sure to check it out and say hi to the pollinators. Check out the posts for updates, the gallery for cool photos, and my YouTube channel has an in-depth video on the process with a lot of info on the plants. Be sure to check it out! youtu.be/qlFqNkcJdi4?si=0KjxE0FkqH2Wrv6x