AdkAction is partnering with the Town of Indian Lake to transform a closed, capped landfill into an eight-acre native pollinator habitat. This three-year demonstration project will test how unused landfill sites across the Adirondacks can be restored to support bees, butterflies, and other vital pollinators.
Many pollinator species are in decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide use, climate change, and disease. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and other insects are responsible for the reproduction of more than 85% of flowering plants, including many crops that people rely on for food. As natural habitat disappears, these essential species have fewer places to feed, reproduce, and migrate.
Across the Adirondack Park, another challenge presents an unexpected opportunity. More than one hundred municipal landfills were closed and capped nearly three decades ago. Today these sites typically remain unused, maintained only as mowed grasslands.
AdkAction is partnering with the Town of Indian Lake to explore how capped landfills can be transformed into thriving pollinator habitat. With support from a Smart Growth Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, this three-year project will convert the town’s closed landfill into an eight-acre native pollinator meadow.
By testing new approaches to restoring capped landfill sites, this project aims to create a replicable model for communities across the Adirondack Park and beyond. If successful, the lessons learned in Indian Lake could help transform dozens of past landfills into vibrant habitat for pollinators and meaningful outdoor spaces for residents and visitors.
Indian Lake has long embraced its identity as “the town that loves monarchs.” The community celebrates monarch butterflies as a symbol of local pride and environmental stewardship. Transforming the town’s capped landfill into a pollinator habitat builds on that identity while giving residents and visitors a new place to connect with nature.
The eight-acre site already includes a gently sloping gravel path and scenic views of the surrounding landscape. With thoughtful restoration and planting, it has the potential to become a vibrant meadow supporting butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects.
AdkAction is working with the Town of Indian Lake from 2024 to 2027 on planning and planting the capped landfill habitat. In 2027 leadership of the project will transition fully to the Town of Indian Lake for ongoing monitoring and maintenance. This timeline highlights completed and planned activities to date.
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Pollinators have been part of AdkAction’s project portfolio in one form or another since our founding. Here are some of our other projects, both active and completed, that work to address the problem of pollinator habitat decline.
We empower people to take individual and collective action to ensure a future where pollinators thrive, native habitat abounds, and Adirondack residents and visitors are engaged pollinator advocates.