Pollinator-friendly Garden at Great Lakes Navy Base
Naval Station Great Lakes provides effective stewardship and management of its land and water resources while supporting Navy operations and the military mission. As part of the Installation’s Natural Resources Management Program, we are working to enhance terrestrial habitats by implementing native trees, herbaceous plants, grasses, and pollinator friendly species within urban landscape areas. Pollinator species play a crucial role in flowering plant, fruit, and vegetable reproduction and are vital to our natural ecosystems. Urbanization can contribute to habitat loss and fragmentation, and subsequently to the decline in some pollinator species. For this reason, it’s important to utilize developed areas for restoration projects.
This year volunteers from the Naval Station Great Lakes Environmental Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chicago Field Office partnered for a joint workday to plant a 1,000 square foot pollinator friendly garden in an unused green space on the base. Eighteen different species were planted including butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), stiff goldenrod (Oligoneuron rigidum), showy black eyed susan (Rudbeckia fulgida), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya), and royal catchfly (Silene regia). The plants selected for the garden vary by color, height, and season of bloom in order to support a variety of pollinator species. Naval Station Great Lakes plans to continue implementing pockets of pollinator gardens where possible in developed areas and to educate our local community on the importance of these gardens.
Submitted by: Naval Station Great Lakes
