MCA Bumble Bee Project

Join passionate managers of pollination system gardens across the SuAsCo to learn about the importance of native plants, gardening to improve habitat, and ecosystem interactions. Feel free to contact Mike Perrin ([email protected]) with any questions.

• Sunny Meadow Farm, Chelmsford: June 18 @ 2:30PM with Chelmsford Pop-up Library (parking/garden location)
• Thanksgiving Forest, Chelmsford: June 18 @ 5:00PM (garden location)
• Bumblebee Park, Littleton: June 20 @ 3:00PM (garden location)
• Ghiloni Park, Marlborough: June 24 @ 6:00 -7:30PM (garden location)
• Chapman Pasture, Lincoln: June 30 @ 10:00AM (see below for parking*)
• Pollinator Meadow, Lincoln: July 7 @ 10:00AM (parking, garden to west)
• Nixon Elementary School, Sudbury: July 18 @ 10:00AM (garden location)
• Prospect Park, Shrewsbury: July 25 @ 10:00AM (see below for parking**)
• Lake Street Park, Shrewsbury: July 25 @ 11:00AM (parking, garden to south)

*Chapman Pasture, Lincoln parking: From Weston Road, drive north on Silver Hill Road. The trailhead is across from #50. Just north of the trailhead, there is an area of road that has a wider/flatter shoulder and can accommodate several cars. From the trailhead, walk 1/4 mile over bog bridges to reach the field.

**Prospect Park, Shrewsbury parking: Enter at the main entrance on Prospect Street. Attendees will be allowed to drive to the top of the hill and park next to the garden.

Pollinator Preservation Gardens

Pollinator Preservation Gardens provide the plants and other habitat features required by our at-risk pollinators. To demonstrate the features of a Pollinator Preservation Garden, the Bumble Bee Project has installed Public Display Gardens in several communities. These gardens provide model habitat and help to educate others about at-risk pollination systems.

• Criteria for Public Display Gardens

Community Ambassador Program

We are seeking Volunteer Community Ambassadors to help install additional Public Display Gardens in all 36 towns and cities in the MCA Region. Community Ambassadors will serve a key role in the promotion of the Bumble Bee Project, the creation of habitat for native pollinators, and the restoration of pollination systems.

Read more about becoming a Volunteer Community Ambassador for the Bumble Bee Project.

Books

• Bringing Nature Home, by Doug Tallamy
• Nature’s Best Hope, by Doug Tallamy

Documentary

• Hometown Habitats: Stories of Bringing Nature Home (2016)

Video Presentations

• Assessing and Improving Your Landscape to Save Native Pollinators: A guide to using Dr. Gegear's plant list to create habitat for at-risk native pollinators.
• Restoring Pollination Systems to the MCA Region: Highlights of two projects for at-risk pollinator conservation and how volunteers can get involved. Edited by Liz Kaprielian.
• Threatened Ecosystems: the People-Plant-Pollinator Solution by Dr. Robert J. Gegear
• Designing Biodiversity by Evan Abramson of Landscape Interactions

Not all plants provide nectar, pollen, or habitat for native pollinators or at-risk pollinators.

Choosing native plants over ornamentals helps many different kinds of pollinators including bees, moths, butterflies, and birds. Bees also need nesting and overwintering habitat, not just flowers.

Recommended Plant List

Dr. Gegear has developed a list of plants he recommends for at-risk pollinators. This list provides detailed information about the bloom time, sun and soil needs, and which species of pollinator prefers that plant. This is a great resource and an essential tool for your pollinator gardening journey. 

• You can find the most current version of the recommended plant list on Dr. Gegear’s website.
• The MCA also provides advice on How to Use Dr. Gegear's Recommended Plant List
• For shade-tolerant plants from Dr. Gegear's list, review this sorted list. 

Please note: Some of the plants on Dr. Gegear’s recommended plant list are state listed. They are protected by the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.

It is illegal to collect these plants, their seeds or any other part of the plant from wild populations. However, it is legal to purchase them from a nursery and plant them in your yard or garden.

Dr. Gegear encourages planting the rare plants because he believes it will aid the recovery of the plants and the pollination systems.  A group of Massachusetts plant conservationists strongly discourage this practice because they believe that rare plant conservation requires a more thoughtful process that accounts for various biological and ecological factors.

The following plants on Dr. Gegear's list are state-listed (E = endangered; T = threatened):

• Hypericum ascyron - Great St. John’s wort (E)
• Asclepias purpurascens - Purple milkweed (E)
• Asclepias verticillata - Whorled milkweed (T)
• Agastache schrophulariaefolia - Purple giant hyssop (E)
• Lobelia siphilitica - Blue lobelia (E)
• Penstemon hirsutus  - Hairy beardtongue (E)
• Blephilia hirsuta - Hairy woodmint (E)
• Blephilia ciliate - Downy woodmint (E)

Where to Buy Native Plants

In 2023, the Bumble Bee Project compiled the following lists of nurseries that sell native plants. We do not have plans to update the lists at this time, so we recommend you call ahead to see if the nurseries carry the plants you wish to purchase.

• 2023 Plant Source List: This pdf contains current information for four native plant nurseries: Native Plant Trust, Bagley Pond Perennials, ecoDesigns, and Blue Stem Natives.
• 2023 Additional Plant Sources: This is a general list of plant sources and resources.
• 2020 Plant Source List: This list was compiled in 2020 with information from several nurseries. It has not been updated, but it provides an overview of many different nurseries and, generally, what they carry.

Pre-recorded workshop (Oct 19, 2024) outlining proper methods for native plant seed collection: watch here