The Second Annual Pollinator Palooza, held on June 4, was a great success, getting almost 2500 native plants into the ground in our region and raising thousands of dollars to help Sustainable Saratoga carry out its mission. The Palooza’s success was owed to the hard work and generosity of many individuals. If we forgot to include you in the list below, let us know and we will correct our mistake!

Thank you first and foremost to Brian and Debbie Oligny for letting us use their greenhouse to grow our plants free of charge and then letting us host the Palooza on their beautiful property in Gansevoort. We literally could not have done it without them. They are the best.

                         

Thank you to the Oligny’s neighbor, Jeff Mancini, for letting us use his property as a parking lot. That was a major good deed and a vast improvement over last year’s parking situation.

A huge thank you to Christine Burghart, whose baby this is. She conceived of the event, named it and made it happen. It was thrilling to watch her in action for the second time, aided by her friend and gardening buddy, Johanna Garrison. They are the brains and the inspiration behind the event.

Thank you to the rest of the Palooza planning team: Dianna Goodwin, Julie Holmberg, Wendy Mahaney, Jennifer Michelle, Paul Murphy, Caroline Rothaug and Kelsey Trudell. I wasn’t sure we would pull it off, but we did it!

Thank you to Candice Bergmann for making our social media look so good.

Thank you to the greenhouse volunteers who potted out plants and then watered them daily for nearly six weeks: Chris Burghart, Anne Ernst, Johanna Garrison, Dianna Goodwin, Julie and Art Holmberg, Bethany Khan and daughter, Wendy Mahaney, Sue Taylor and Kelsey Trudell.

Thank you to Adirondack Trust for its generous donation and to Hannaford for providing snacks and drinks.

Thank you to the businesses and individuals who donated items for our raffle: American Beauties Native Plants, Balet Flowers, Booth’s Blend Compost, Caffe Lena, The Children’s Museum at Saratoga, Chris Burghart, Common Roots Brewing Company, Dancing Grain Farm Brewery, Dehn’s Flowers, Eastern Mountain Sports, Featherbed Lane Farm, Harvest2Homes, Eileen Hurley, Impressions of Saratoga, Kayak Shak, Kelsey Lynn Yoga, Lucy’s Bar, Nine Miles East, Quality Hardware, Roosevelt Baths and Spa, Saratoga Olive Oil Company, Spa Cascada, Spoken Boutique, Strand Theater and Wild Things Rescue Nursery.

Big thank you to Jennifer Michelle for soliciting donations for the raffle for the second year in a row. Thanks to Nora Cheek for organizing the raffle displays. And thanks to Nora Cheek, Maja Mahaney, and Mary Jo Salomon for selling the raffle tickets and minding the booths.

A special thanks to Martha Johnson at Slack Hollow Farm for planting and growing out the 500 milkweed seedlings we gave away at the Palooza and at other recent events. Thank you to Janet Britt for helping plant the elusive, fluffy milkweed seeds. Thank you to Megan Di Maio for donating the seeds. And thank you to Noah Savett for donating the coneflower seeds we gave away at the Palooza.

Thank you to the food and beverage truck vendors who showed up to provide sustenance to the hungry crowds: Coach’s Corner, Dancing Grain Farm Brewery, and Sustainable Eats.

Thank you to Capital Region PRISM, Saratoga PLAN, Cornell Cooperative Extension Saratoga County Master Gardeners, SoBro Conservancy of Saratoga, Southern Adirondack Audubon Society, Genoveffa Vitale, Grow Amsterdam NY, The Animal League, and Wild Ones Capital Region for setting up information tables and demonstrations at the Palooza.

A huge and enthusiastic thank you to the Saratoga Springs High School Fiddle Club who entertained us all. Come back next year! And thank you to the numerous high school volunteers who accompanied their teachers Leanne Donelan and Jody Visconti to help out.

Thank you to our Palooza volunteers who prepared for the day, set up the event, directed traffic, staffed the booths, answered questions in the greenhouse, cashiered, kept things flowing, and cleaned up at the end. In alphabetical order they are: Robin Ambrosino, Audrey Belt, Bill Boehmke, Ans Bradford, Chris Burghart, Giana Cammisa, Nora Cheek, Tom Denny, Leanne Donelan, Kathy Dugan, Frank and Kate Edwards, Ellen Egger-Aimone, Anne Ernst, Laura Faulk, Bobbi Fitzgerald, Jill Flaherty, Denis Foley, Art and Julie Holmberg, Johanna Garrison, Dianna Goodwin, Deb Johnson, Gayle Kyler, Lizzie Madison, Jennifer Michelle, Maja and Wendy Mahaney, Alexandra Morgan, Paul Murphy, Kelly Packard, Jack and Lenore Reber, Peyton Reno, Mary Roberts, Caroline Rothaug, Brian Schmitt, Margie Shepard, Jake and Mary Jo Salomon, Dale Tracey, Ben and Kelsey Trudell, and Jody Visconti.

And, finally, a big thank you to all the gardeners who showed up in droves to support our efforts and to give new homes to the plants we grew.  Expand your garden beds and come back next year!   

Thank you!  

The Pollinator Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE … “Check Out the Buzzzzz”

Media Contact: Dianna Goodwin, pollinators@sustainablesaratoga.org 

Saratoga Springs, NY – Pollinator Palooza Is Back! Join Sustainable Saratoga on Sunday, June 4th for their second annual native plant sale. New and improved with even more plants, raffle items, displays, food and drink trucks, and better parking! Bring the whole family for a fun-filled day and do your part to help our native pollinators.

What: Pollinator Palooza Native Plant Sale

When: Sunday, June 4, from 10am – 2pm

Where: 390 Wilton-Gansevoort Road, Gansevoort (the former Oligny’s Garden Center)

Parking: Across the street at 393 Wilton-Gansevoort Road (follow signs and parking staff directions)

Event website: https://sustainablesaratoga.org/pollinator-palooza-native-plant-sale/

Native plants for native pollinators: Every garden, no matter how small, has an important role to play in protecting pollinators. Planting native plants is an essential part of creating food and habitat for our native pollinators. However, finding native plants can often be a challenge. The Pollinator Palooza native plant sale makes a variety of native plants available to gardeners in the Saratoga area.

This family-friendly event includes

• Over 30 varieties of native plants for sale
• Information about native plants and pollinators
• Help with gardening questions
• Regional organizations focused on native plants and ecosystems
• Free soil pH testing by Cornell Cooperative Extension (bring about 1/4 cup of dry soil)
• Activities for children
• Raffles to win gift certificates, books, plants, and gift baskets
• New this year: enjoy lunch from food and beer trucks

Visit the event website: https://sustainablesaratoga.org/pollinator-palooza-native-plant-sale/ for more details and the list of plants available for purchase.

About Sustainable Saratoga

Sustainable Saratoga is a not-for-profit organization that promotes sustainable practices and the protection of natural resources through education, advocacy and action, for the benefit of current and future generations in the Saratoga Springs area. Since 2008, Sustainable Saratoga has been a leader in promoting awareness of environmental issues and what we as a local community can do to minimize our ecological impact while maintaining a high quality of life. To learn more about Sustainable Saratoga, visit: https://sustainablesaratoga.org/