Sustainable Solano to install pollinator gardens
The Rocky Hill Trail has come a long way in seven years.
What used to be a dirt path connecting Rocky Hill Road to Markham Avenue and was primarily used as a shortcut for Willis Jepson Middle School and Vacaville High School students has become a sleek paved pathway popularly used by cyclists and pedestrians alike since it was dedicated in 2016. The area has also been spruced up with the addition of public art panels designed by Leslie Molera and local art students depicting a monarch butterfly and murals of residents enjoying the trail.
What it does not have is a pollinator garden, and that is something Sustainable Solano seeks to change. Over two weekends in March, the Benicia-based 501(c)(3), students in its Environmental Justice Leadership Fellowship and volunteers plan to install a native garden rich in pollen-producing plants at the front entrance of the trail.
On the first day, March 11, students and community members will prepare the land for a pollinator garden by pulling up weeds, laying down burlap and mulch and preparing the space for planting the following weekend.
On the second day, March 18, participants will put in native plants, bee hotels and irrigation lines and discussthe roles that pollinators play in the ecosystem.
Both events are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Holly Lane and Rocky Hill Road. Registration is free both days, but volunteers must reserve a spot at Eventbrite.com/e/rocky-hill-trail-pollinatorgarden-installation-day1-of-3-tickets-539725321967`. Copies of tickets are not needed.
Closed-toe shoes are required, and hats and sunscreen are highly recommended.
Participants are encouraged to bring working gloves, a water bottle and lunch. Volunteers who do not feel well the day of the event are asked to stay home. Volunteers under 18 must have their legal guardians sign a liability release upon check-in.
For more information, email patrick@sustainablesolano.org. A community discussion on environmental justice issues in Vacaville is scheduled for April 1 at the same location.
Other Sustainable Solano events scheduled over the next month include an introduction to California food forests Saturday at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Benicia, food forest installations Saturday and March 4 at Fairfield City Church, a container gardening class March 4 at the Fairfield Cordelia Library, a laundryto-landscape Greywater Action workshop March 11 in Vallejo and an online class March 11 on raising chickens in gardens. For more information, go to Sustainablesolano.org/.