Rebel Territories
Hi ! I’m Christina Yedowitz, Rebel Leader here to explain why I like to call our gardens on the properties of towns and villages Rebel Territories!
In many fandoms our heroes maintain rebel bases. Passidomo Park in West Harrison is our home base but we are reaching out and I have my eyes set on the prize. To be all over Westchester County. In a world filled with empty lawns that are sometimes treated with blankets of spray which indiscriminately harm beneficial as well as less desirable insects, it helps us to know that we are gaining ground. Collectively with all the rebel projects on the table we have declared about 23,000 square feet to be pollinator friendly spaces. We accomplished this with minimal funding and a handful of volunteers. Imagine what we could do if you came out to help!!
I have entered into relationships with other organizations and towns to help us to expand and better use public property by working to design garden spaces that are good for people and for bugs. Below is a list of our ongoing projects and some spaces we are working on for the future. In each case the success of our efforts is very much due to people inviting us into these spaces. We have a responsibility to make sure that they are beautifully designed, easy to maintain, and maximize benefits for out native wildlife populations. I am exceedingly grateful that they have made these opportunities available.
West Harrison (SIlver Lake) - Leo Mintzer Senior Center and Community Recreation Building - 14 ft X 8 ft raised bed, 10 ft by 5 ft front plaque garden. We moved into this space in 2020 and will continue to work to establish more pollinator friendly plants and native perennials.
HCC - Harrison Children’s Center, Pollinator planters and wildlife flower area. Harrison Children’s center has invited us to help the children there learn about insects and gardening. We will be seeding in wildflowers and putting in pots and ground plantings of pollinator friendly annuals and native perennials.
Village of Rye Brook Healthy Yards Pollinator Garden - The VIllage of Rye Brook has graciously invited me to design a planting of pollinator friendly and native plants in the 28 ft by 28 ft circle directly in front of their village hall. We collaborated to work on budgeting and plant selection. This area contained mostly mulch and green plants and very few high value plants for insects. We started an early seeding of perennials and annuals April 17th and will be installing 220 native plants of 11 different species of high pollinator value perennial natives. The garden will act as a demonstration of using natives with high ornamental value to support pollinators as well as bring more beauty to the public space.
Collaboration with Harrison Beautification Committee & Foundation: In the summer of 2020 I was invited to chair the beautification committee of Harrison to revitalize public areas. This year with the help of the extremely dedicated Helen Pesce, our treasurer and fellow plant enthusiast, our amazing town parks and public works employees, and volunteers, we will begin the redesign and planting process. My goal is to take a blended approach to help develop recipes that mix conventional and native plants to increase the pollinator and insect value of these sites. They must be able to take abuse and receive minimal maintenance. This makes Harrison a front runner in the conversation about changing municipal plantings to spaces that are still visually attractive but also contribute to ecosystem health and diversity.
