Pennsylvania Turnpike wants to turn roadside land into pollinator habitat – Spotlight PA

This article was originally published by the Chesapeake Bay Journal , an award-winning nonprofit news organization that has been covering environmental issues in the Bay region for more than 30 years. Each summer, motorists traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as it passes south of Harrisburg will see a burst of blooms. Purple coneflowers, oxeye sunflowers, wild bergamots and many more nectar-producing flowers blanket the roadside below the Turnpike Commission’s headquarters there. In 2022, the commission established this pollinator habitat across 1.72 acres, divided into four test plots — each planted with a unique mix of wildflowers that together can support pollinators through their entire life cycles. They also seeded more plots on nearly six acres at the Hickory Run Service Plaza on the turnpike’s northeast extension (Interstate 476) in Carbon County. In the years since, they’ve added plots at five more locations along the turnpike, reaching a total of nearly 25 acres of land planted primarily with flowers and grasses native to Pennsylvania and the surrounding region. The goal is to identify which mixes of seed best support pollinators, survive deer browsing and thrive with minimal maintenance. They’ll then use the most promising mixes to convert more of their 565
Read More