Pollinator Friendly City

Harrisonburg Pollinator Program

In early 2019, Harrisonburg Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments began planting pollinator spaces that are creating a pollinator corridor through The Friendly City.

Pollinator Program Brochure [18.9MB]

What is a pollinator corridor and why is it important?

A pollinator corridor is a pathway of gardens and meadows planted with native pollinator flowers, grasses, and trees that appeal to our native pollinator species of bees, butterflies, moths, birds, and even bats. This corridor planted through an urban area helps keep our local ecosystem working by providing a pathway for pollinators to travel, rest, and feed. Did you know 1 out of every 3 bites of the food you eat is thanks to a pollinator? That's right, pollinators touch 1/3 of the food we consume, over 150 food crops in the United States depend on pollinators.

Harrisonburg's pollinator corridor is made up of many small areas planted on public grounds. Some are as small as four square feet. Occasionally we are lucky to have a public space where we can plant a larger pollinator meadow. These spaces designed for pollinators are important because pollinators are facing global declines due to habitat loss, poor nutrition, and pesticide exposure and it is the City's job to make sure we are proactive in counteracting these issues. Staff, with the assistance of various local organizations such as the local Girl Scouts and First Presbyterian Church volunteers, have installed pollinator spaces in parks as a step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations.

Visit the City's Pollinator-Friendly Spaces

Pollinator spaces that city staff have installed and managed are listed in our Harrisonburg Pollinators Guide. Check out the story map to see all the new pollinator spaces we added this year.

Take the digital Downtown Pollinator Walk. This self-guided tour takes about 45 minutes, 20 minutes if you power walk, and hours if you stop to enjoy the amazing stores, shops, sights, and restaurants of Downtown. You can follow the interactive map that tells a little about each stop along the way, or you can download the Downtown Pollinator Walk Map [4.6MB] where the downtown pollinator spaces can be connected and enjoyed on a 1.1 mile.

Establishing Pollinator Spaces

Just like any landscaping, pollinator spaces require planning, correct planting techniques, and maintenance in order to be successful. You can bring the beauty, and benefit, of pollinators to your home! You can create a pollinator space at your home by planting a bed or meadow in your yard, or by planting in pots or planters on your deck, porch, or balcony. We do recommend you focus on native plants when planting a pollinator space.

Planning and Planting: Pollinator Habitat should consist of native forbs, flowers, and warm-season grasses. All seed mixes or plugs planted for pollinator habitats within the city should be of native origin and appropriate seeding and planting rate. Starting with the right species selection for site conditions is paramount to pest management into the future. All ground to be planted should be surveyed and controlled for vegetative pest prior to planting either by hand pulling, mechanical control, or herbicide treatment. Soil should be cleaned of thatch (ideally burned) and slightly disturbed to ensure good seed to soil contact, but not deep-tilled in a way that encourages invasive vegetation. When possible, the seed should be drilled. If planting small beds, wildflower plugs should be used and mulched appropriately to smother competing vegetation.
Maintenance: Pollinator habitat should be surveyed for invasive vegetation bi-weekly. Invasive or competing vegetation should be controlled by manual removal whenever feasible, mechanical mowing, or by spot spraying of herbicides. Over browse of nuisance deer should be dealt with by barrier fencing until the stand is fully established. Pollinator habitat should be mowed once a year during the dormant season to encourage new growth and removal of thatch from the previous growing seasons. Mowing or burning (where feasible) is the single most important pest management tool to control invasive and woody vegetation. Most insects that occupy native pollinator habitats are truly beneficial. Insecticides should not be sprayed in or near the pollinator habitat. The use of burning (where feasible) or mowing should control ticks to the appropriate level.
Ready to join the Pollinator Corridor? Register your garden as part of our Pollinator Friendly City! Registered gardens must be in the front yard. Your garden can be any size but must contain a minimum of three (3) native plant species.

Types of Pollinator Spaces

There are two main types of pollinator spaces. The type of pollinator space planted depends on factors such as available space, the purpose of the habitat, and aesthetics.

Pollinator Gardens: Pollinator gardens are small-scale (generally less than 1,000 square feet) areas that can provide an essential source of habitat for pollinators. They are
sometimes converted from existing mulched beds and include native plants and plugs. These areas are more manicured than pollinator meadows.
Pollinator Meadows: Pollinator meadows are areas of land converted from non-productive mowed fields or turf to pollinator habitat. These can be large scale (greater than 1 acre) or small scale. To establish a meadow, existing vegetation is removed, the seedbed is prepared, and a seed mixture of native plants and grasses are spread. In Harrisonburg, these sites include a mulched or mowed border and must be maintained to ensure invasive species are controlled.

Pollinator Program Annual Events

Pollinators In Your Yard - March

Join us for the annual Pollinators in Your Yard event which takes place in Downtown Harrisonburg at the Ice House building, Pale Fire Brewing Co., and Drifters Café! This event celebrates ongoing efforts to support Harrisonburg as a pollinator-friendly city and is full of information and activities that the whole family may enjoy.

The event kicks off with a discussion about pollinator-friendly initiatives happening around the City of Harrisonburg. Learn details about specific pollinator animal species found in Harrisonburg's green spaces and the plant species that support them, and recent pollinator project collaborations that have taken place in around the community!

Visit the event page for more information.

Pollinator Month - June

Participate in Pollinator-themed events all month to celebrate National Pollinator Month!

Text that reads "Join us in celebrating Pollinator Month in June" over bee on coneflower.

2026 Event Information:

June 5 - First Friday at City Hall
- 5:00pm-7:00pm - Pollinator Friendly City Exhibit Opening and reception at City Hall.
June 9 - Harrisonburg Farmers Market Pollinator Booth
- 8:00am - 1:00pm - Learn about pollinators and pick up pollinator-themed goodies!
June 9 - Guided Downtown Pollinator Walking Tour
- 10:30am - 11:30am - Join us for a pollinator walking tour through downtown Harrisonburg. Meet at Liberty Park, 188 North Liberty Street.
June 11 - Bee Hotel Workshop at Westover Park Shelter 4
- 2:00pm - 3:15pm - Join Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation & Public Works in building a pollinator hotel for your yard! First come first serve with one kit per family!
June 18 - Art in the Park
- 10:00am - 12:00pm - Join Julia Stauffer of the Shenandoah Valley Watercolor Society in Liberty Park for a morning of nature-inspired art and exploration. Participants will complete a scavenger hunt throughout the park and create their own plant-inspired art.
- Register online! 10 people per session on a first come, first serve basis.
June 23 - Celebrating the Firefly
- 8:45pm - 10:00pm - Learn about the Firefly and stroll down Heritage Oaks Golf Course paths as fireflies light up around you!

For more information, please reach out to Public Works Greenspace Manager Jeremy Harold at Jeremy.Harold@harrisonburgva.gov.

BioBlitz - September

Participate in our annual Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz Event! Starting September 1, residents can document pollinators and pollinator plants across the city using the iNaturalist app. In 2022, Harrisonburg was named a grand prize winner in the National Recreation and Park Association's annual competition.

WHSV News Segments:

Learn more about the City's efforts for creating Pollinator Spaces