GM workers, Scouts plant garden to attract butterflies

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

LORDSTOWN

Lily Glover, 7, takes the roots of a Culver’s Root plant and spreads them out.

“It’s really important to make sure they are getting in the ground correctly,” said Amber Barnes, field research intern for Pollinator Partnership, during a tutorial before planting. “The roots need to get out and into the soil.”

General Motors Lordstown employees and Troop 20 of the Lordstown Boy Scouts planted 350 plants outside the GM Lordstown plant during a hot and sunny Wednesday afternoon.

Lily joined her dad, Kevan Glover, along with her sister Annabelle, 6, and brother Ishmael, 9.

“I did it,” Lily said as she covered the plant with dirt after it was in the ground.

Kevan Glover, a contract employee at GM Lordstown, brought his children to the event to learn, perform a good deed and have fun planting.

“My son is into gardening,” Kevan said. “He has a personal garden in the backyard.”

The plants now planted at Lordstown – Culver’s Root, Milkweed, Mountain Mint, Wild Quinine and Joe Pye weed – will be a source of nectar for monarch butterflies.

GM Lordstown partnered with Pollinator Partnership for the planting. The four patches of garden in a vacant green space – where President Barack Obama’s helicopter landed when he came to Lordstown in 2009 – will be used for research for Pollinator Partnership’s Monarch Wings Across Ohio program.

The program supports monarch migration by planting habitat research plots to see what native plants monarchs like the most as a source of nectar to support their journey.

“We are excited to have all of the volunteers support and GM support,” Barnes said.

“It is one of the larger organizations dedicated to protecting pollinators.”

The Pollinator Partnership has 18 varying field sites in Northeastern Ohio. The research at these sites will continue for three to five years.

“With the monarchs, we want to know what they actually prefer instead of making assumptions,” Barnes said.

The sites also will help the organization gather data on the bee population.

“We thought it was a great initiative, more than just planting a garden,” said Maia Hoffman, environmental engineer at GM Lordstown.

The garden on the far east side of the plant along Hallock-Young Road is the first for GM Lordstown. Another 600 plants will be planted in late June. A garden also will be planted at the GM Parma Metal Center.

“We are going to see how this goes this year,” Hoffman said. “If it goes well, hopefully we can install more.”