Creating “The Ecotype Project”

Plants are food and shelter. If they are not being eaten or nested in by someone then they are not serving their true purpose. Using the native plant nursery produced by John Campanelli, a doctoral researcher at the University of Connecticut, CT NOFA and the Pollinator Pathway have teamed up to build out 30 (so far) native plant habitat projects in public gardens and on community farms. The ecological services of these habitats support fruit and vegetable crop growers throughout the region. Follow our work on instagam and facebook to see these initial habitats taking flight.

Locally adapted species have a better chance of success: it’s all part of our “right plant in the right place” philosophy. For increased climate change resilience, Connecticut’s own wild varieties need to be captured and cultivated for service in Connecticut’s habitat restoration. We are working with conservationists and wild seed foragers to find and protect Connecticut ecotypes of native plants.

We have launched the a Living Seed Bank project as a way of developing reliable farmer partners in the seed production of native plants. From home gardeners to nursery growers, the collection, protection, and promotion of our local ecotypes will be central to the success of our pollinator habitat restoration projects moving forward.