A new life for old landfills: Indian Lake pollinator project grows

INDIAN LAKE | What was once a closed landfill in the Town of Indian Lake is being reimagined as something entirely new: a thriving, eight-acre pollinator meadow filled with native plants, buzzing with bees, and alive with butterflies. Through a partnership between AdkAction and the Town of Indian Lake, this underutilized site is becoming the focus of a three-year demonstration project to show how capped landfills across the Adirondacks can be transformed into meaningful habitat for pollinators and vibrant community spaces. Supported by a Smart Growth Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the project responds to a growing environmental challenge. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are responsible for the reproduction of more than 85 percent of flowering plants, including many crops people rely on for food. Yet their populations are in decline due to habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, and disease. At the same time, more than one hundred capped landfills across the Adirondack Park remain largely unused, maintained as simple grass cover. This project explores how those sites can become part of the solution. "Indian Lake is embracing its identity as "The Town that loves Monarchs" in conjunction with NYSDEC and AdkAction as it establishes the first of its kind in the Adirondack Park - transforming a capped landfill that will provide acres of native plants to provide food and shelter for pollinators for generations," stated Supervisor Brian E. Wells. The grassy site features a gently sloping gravel path and scenic views that will, over time, be surrounded by diverse native plantings designed to provide nectar, pollen, and shelter throughout the growing season. On Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers are invited to take part in a large-scale planting day at the site, located about one mile north of the Town of Indian Lake. In a single morning, up to 150 volunteers will plant more than 5,500 native plants, laying the foundation for a new pollinator habitat. "This is about turning an idea into something you can see and touch," said AdkAction Project Coordinator Kailey Maher. "Every plant going into the ground is part of a larger effort to restore ecosystems and create a model other communities can follow." Taking place at the start of Pollinator Week, the event marks the beginning of a long-term restoration effort. The Town of Indian Lake will also establish a volunteer stewardship group, Friends of the Indian Lake Pollinator Project, to support ongoing care of the site. Volunteers are encouraged to make a day of it by also attending the Monarch & Pollinator Festival in Indian Lake that day starting at 2 p.m. with live entertainment and hands-on DIY activities such as making seed balls and bee houses. The festival will be held at the Town of Indian Lake Welcome Center, located at 6132 NYS Route 28. For more information, visit FESTIVALS - Indian Lake. To register to volunteer, visit: www.adkaction.org/event/volunteer-event-indian-lake-planting-day/

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A new life for old landfills: Indian Lake pollinator project grows

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