The Pollinator Project

Pollinator gardens serve as a food source for a variety of flowers and plants that share a mutualistic relationship with pollinating insects and birds, such as butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, etc.

With the help of a few environmentally conscious residents, the City of Westlake has been working to accommodate and help facilitate the creation of  numerous pollinator gardens throughout the community.  

Susan Baker, a longtime judge for Westlake in Bloom, and Deb Dougherty, a member of the Westlake Garden Club, first approached Westlake Mayor Dennis M. Clough in the Fall of 2020 with the idea of creating pollinator gardens as a mean so of beautifying the City. The idea was given his support and the City of Westlake is committed to supporting the creation of these environmentally-friendly gardens. 

The overall intent and goal for the Pollinator Project revolves around public education, outreach and involvement. Pollinators are a vital resource in plant and food production and plant survival. Both plants and pollinators are an important part of human life and sharing this information of their necessity and native origin is key to improving local sustainability, beautification and population.

Feel free to send us photos and information about your pollinator garden at cstuhm@cityofwestlake.org and/or post them to social media with the hashtags #ThePollinatorProject and #WestlakeCommunity! 

Honey BeePollinator Insects & Birds

There are dozens of varieties of pollinator insects and birds that benefit from pollinator gardens, as well as the plants that comprise these valuable contributors to the local ecosystem. Westlake resident and Eagle Scout Grant Junkins compiled a wealth of information about these pollinators for his Eagle Scout Project in November 2020. This information is available on our aptly named Pollinator Insects & Birds webpage.

Swamp Milkweed - Photo by Jenny PrimeauPollinator Plants

Pollinator plants are all around us whether we know it or not. Most people don't realize that certain flowering plants they may consider weeds actually serve a very valuable purpose. Thanks to the work of Westlake's own Grant Junkins, the City of Westlake has provided a significant amount of information about these plants on our Pollinator Plants webpage.

Clague Playhouse Pollinator Garden QR codeDid You Know?

Each public garden created for this project will have a QR code (see the image to the right) that can be scanned from any mobile device to learn more about that particular garden and The Pollinator Project as a whole.


Pollinator Project Yard Signs Yard Signs

Do you have a pollinator garden in your yard? Are thinking of planting one? You can get it certified as an official Monarch Butterfly Waystation by visiting MonarchWatch.org. Once it is certified, you can get a "Pollinator Area" yard sign by contacting the Westlake Service Department at 440-835-6432.