Plant a Solar Pollinator Garden
Pollinators are bees, birds, butterflies, bats, wasps, moths, beetles and other insects or invertebrates that facilitate plant reproduction by transferring pollen. They are critically important to environmental health, as well as sustaining our food supply and agricultural economy. New York’s crops rely on insect pollination, but pollinator populations are rapidly declining in the face of disease, habitat and ecosystem destruction, pesticide use, and climate change.
New York State has set a goal to supply 50% of energy from renewable energy sources by 2030. As a result, thousands of acres of ground-mounted solar arrays are being built across the state. These solar arrays create a unique opportunity to protect our pollinator populations through pollinator-friendly solar.
Pollinator-friendly solar is the practice of adding attractive, pollinator-friendly native plantings under and around ground-mounted solar arrays, replacing gravel or turf grass. Pollinator-friendly solar represents an opportunity to advance solar energy while simultaneously addressing the threat of pollinator extinction, promoting demand for native plants, revitalizing the land’s soil quality, and supporting local agriculture and farmers.
Bedford 2030 has partnered with ground-mounted solar owners to demonstrate the benefits of Pollinator Friendly Solar, help to establish best practices, and generate interest and action among a wide array of stakeholders.
Are you interested in going ground-mounted? Check out our resources below and consider implementing pollinator-friendly solar as a sustainability solution.
Learn more:
Benefits of Pollinator-Friendly Solar
Co-Locating Agriculture and Solar
Pollinator-Friendly Solar with Monarch Joint-Ventur
Solar Pollinator Garden Scorecards:
University of Vermont’s Solar Site Pollinator Habitat Scorecard