When dropping off items for recycling, take notice of the new pollinator garden installed at Westmoreland Cleanways. With a variety of native plants and annuals in upcycled or recycled containers, there is seasonal nectar, host plants for butterflies and moths, nectar sources for specialist bees not to mention visual interest for humans as well!

In August of 2023, at a Penn State Extension picnic, I met Mike Skapura and Natalie Reese from Westmoreland Cleanways. We were invited guests, me as a master gardener, and Mike and Natalie as representatives of Westmoreland Cleanways. A speaker discussed the plight of pollinators - habitat loss, insecticide use, light pollution - and the need for humans to create insect corridors.  These pathways can be as easy as one flower pot filled with seasonal native plants or a larger garden space. And thus, an idea was born.

"Why plant a pollinator garden?" I asked Mike.   

"We had a weedy area and I wanted to do something that would help the environment and create a flyway for monarch butterflies. It's a good thing and it looks nice, too,” he stated.

It certainly does. We chose only native plants, in plug form and small nursery specimens, to begin growing in this tough, dry, rocky ground. Amazingly, there are plants that have evolved and thrive in these growing conditions!  Asclepius tuberosa, butterfly weed, along the edge. Little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, along with Lanceleaf coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata, and blue aster, Symphotricum laeve, are also happy here.  

"Our mission at Westmoreland Cleanways is to protect, restore and maintain the environmental qualities of Westmoreland County for the benefit of all that work, live and visit herein,” states Mike. Thank you, Mike and Natalie, for also including the insects and the birds.  

Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling Center is located at 355 Pleasant Unity Mutual Road in Greensburg. Check out their website at www.westmorelandcleanways.org for details on hours and items accepted for recycling.