Pollinator Project
The Pollinator Project is an ongoing project with a broad coalition of supporters. This renewed effort started with pilot installations in 2020 and continues to this day. Changing the culture of illegal dumping and monitoring progress in a neighborhood takes time. Adopting a long view and taking on these challenges with a multi-year plan to conduct this work over multiple years is a logical approach.
We have been fortunate enough to connect with many residents and host hundreds of volunteers since the inception of this project. In addition, we have added anti-dumping measures that have proven to show results over the years. We have installed bollards or trees at several sites. Moreover, cameras have been installed by the City of Saginaw in partnership with the Land Bank.
The majority of our effort continues to focus on vacant properties that are not evenly distributed in Saginaw to help stabilize the physical conditions of many neighborhoods. Much of our work is concentrated on the east side of the river, focusing on the Northeast Neighborhood near First Ward Community Center, the Houghton-Jones neighborhood, the Cathedral District, and the Southeast Neighborhood near the Samaritas Community Center. Due to various factors, these neighborhoods have experienced vacancy on a much grander scale than most west-side neighborhoods. Our initial effort in Saginaw focused on neighborhood cleanup and installation of pollinator beneficial seeding regimes. This approach has shown success, but we continue to diversify our methods to include a broad spectrum of activities.
We continue to build on the investment of the Pollinator Project, growing our work to include new services to help in the ongoing vacant land crisis in the community. Many of the lots we cleaned up must be continually monitored and maintained, and we must not stop now. When required, we take the steps to replant our wildflower prairies and semi-annually mow them as needed. We also continually address illegal dumping and make plans to install even more dumping prevention measures when necessary.
This project allows us to plant hundreds and hundreds of trees, assist our community partners, and continue to be a force for good in Saginaw.
Our Funders and Partners
Saginaw County Land Bank
Huntington Bank - Arnold and Gertrude Boutell Memorial Fund
Environmental Protection Agency
General Motors
Saginaw Community Foundation
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Center for Community Progress
Dow
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Frank N. Andersen Foundation
Harvey Randall Wickes Foundation
William F. McNally Family Foundation
Tri-Star Trust Bank
Covenant HealthCare
Morley Companies
Bierlein Companies, Inc.
Dr. Samuel Shaheen Family Foundation
Garber Automotive Group
Spence Brothers
Caravan Facilities Management
Scientific Brake
