It’s not often that a project in a small Adirondack town with fewer than 1,500 year-round residents catches the attention of someone halfway across the globe. But that’s exactly what happened when Jacy, host of the The Bee’s Knees Podcast, discovered AdkAction’s Landfill Pollinator Habitat project.

In this recent episode, AdkAction’s Communications Manager Kristina Hartzell and Project Coordinator Kailey Maher share the story behind the effort to transform a capped landfill in the Town of Indian Lake into a thriving pollinator meadow. What might seem like an unlikely location is actually well-suited for this kind of restoration, offering open, sunny conditions that many native plants and pollinators need to thrive.

The conversation explores how the idea took shape, what we’ve learned from early test plots planted last spring, and how native species are responding to the site’s unique conditions. Early monitoring has already identified promising plants that can establish successfully while providing valuable forage for bees and other pollinators.

Local schools, volunteers, and town partners are all helping to bring the meadow to life, turning an underused site into a shared space for learning, stewardship, and connection. That spirit of community continues with our upcoming volunteer planting day in Indian Lake on June 20th.

Volunteers will install 5,500 native plants across the site, building on last year’s test plots and moving us closer to a fully established pollinator habitat. It’s a hands-on opportunity to be part of this transformation and contribute to a project that’s testing new ideas for land use in the Adirondacks.

Listen to the full podcast episode: https://thebeesknees.website/habitat-restoration/

As this multi-year project continues, we look forward to sharing more about what we’re learning and how this model might be applied in other Adirondack communities and beyond.