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In 2025, AdkAction worked on two vastly different scales of pollinator habitat. At I-87’s High Peaks Rest Areas, just 36 square feet of gardens, arranged in six hexagonal beds, help educate the area’s 12 million visitors about the importance of Adirondack pollinator conservation. At a very different site in the remote community of Indian Lake, identical plants are beginning to take root in test plots atop an eight-acre capped landfill. While millions of people will never see this site, the lessons learned through its creation will reverberate across the state and inform similar plantings in places once considered wastelands. Together, these projects show how pollinator habitat in unlikely places can inspire others to take action in their own communities.

On a summer day in July, AdkAction teamed up with the New York State Department of Transportation and Essex County Soil and Water Conservation District to plant pollinator gardens at the High Peaks Rest Areas on I-87. In one day, staff and volunteers built and planted three raised beds at each location using native flowering plants chosen to support pollinators. As travelers stopped to watch and ask questions, the gardens began to fulfill their purpose. Later in the season, AdkAction added interpretive signs explaining why pollinators are important, how the Adirondacks fit into global migration patterns, and what people can do at home to help. Thousands of people pass through these rest areas each year. A project completed in one day now connects with visitors traveling to and through the region, turning a routine stop into a chance for learning and interaction.

AdkAction continued a years-long habitat creation project on a capped landfill in Indian Lake. Once a site for waste disposal, it is now being turned into a pollinator meadow and community resource. Supported by a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Smart Growth Grant, this is the first large-scale restoration project of its kind in the Adirondack Park. In spring 2025, AdkAction and consulting ecologist Steve Langdon set up test plots using native seeds and young plants to discover which species thrive in the site’s conditions. Throughout the summer, Adirondack Pollinator Project intern Jess Lee monitored plant growth and conducted research through Colgate University. The findings are guiding a major planting phase in 2026, when tens of thousands of native plants will be added. This careful approach highlights AdkAction’s commitment to learning and being open. Some species thrive while others struggle, and each outcome helps inform future efforts.

From highway rest stops to former landfills, these projects show how thoughtful partnerships and steady effort can turn overlooked spaces into thriving habitats. Together, they prove that pollinator habitat can flourish in unexpected places, and that visible successes can inspire communities across the region to take action in their own backyards.

This story appeared in AdkAction’s 2025 Annual Report. Read the full report here.