Saturday, April 26 is Planting Day and your help is needed as the Mattituck Park District creates a new pollinator meadow on their Bay Avenue property. Formerly a baseball field and lawn, the project will transform the acreage into a meadow comprised of drought-resistant native plants that attract bees, butterflies and other prolific pollinators. Berms and a half-mile hiking trail will be installed as well.
The meadow-in-the-making is a true community effort. The Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation has joined the Planting Day endeavor and will be providing gardening tools for volunteers to use, many of which were donated by local businesses. A food drive is also on tap, and CAST volunteers will be collecting donations of non-perishable food and personal care items at the event.
The Sabat Meadow is part of a multi-year redesign by MPD’s facilities manager Ben Heins, assistant facilities manager Kristin Curtain and noted industrial designer and Mattituck resident Brad Ascalon. Besides the meadow and hiking trail, the property will eventually boast a new tennis court location, a kayak launch, a bridge over James Creek and redesigned parking.
“Restoration of our native landscapes is more important now than ever,” says MPD Commissioner Alexandra Getches. “The meadow will be ever-changing and growing—a dynamic, living space with something different to enjoy and notice each time you visit.”
Forty-three varieties of perennials and shrubs will be planted, most of them deer-resistant, including rose and common milkweed, New England aster and purple coneflower. The plantings are meant to offer a healthy habitat for birds, mammals and insects, and wildlife houses for bats, owls and other creatures will be added as the meadow becomes established.
Planting begins at noon and is expected to go quickly, as the ground is currently soft and the size of the plants small. The MPD will provide water for volunteers and a food truck is scheduled to arrive as the planting comes to an end.
To volunteer, sign up here and indicate if you can bring a shovel, work gloves and a cultivator or similar tool. Participants should check in at the meadow’s location at 1865 Bay Avenue, Mattituck at noon; the rain date for the event is Sunday, April 27 at noon.
