By Barbara Drew, Earth & Climate Ministry

Green thumbs, other thumbs, and muscles are welcome to help with autumn planting and enhance UUCWC grounds. Come with gloves, shovels, and your enthusiasm as we plant native perennials to add to our existing pollinator garden on the large berm by the street-side parking area.

Native plantings are important and offer benefits, whereas nonnative plants can become invasive and provide no value. These plantings create wildlife habitats, supply food, shelter, and nesting sites, prevent runoff, reduce mowed lawns, which have no environmental benefits and save us money, and help lower our carbon footprint. This is all part of climate action and our sound, eco-friendly land stewardship commitment, which contributed to earning Gold Status as a River-Friendly organization by The Watershed Institute in Pennington, New Jersey, and as our UUA Green Sanctuary 2030 application.

The main effort will be to plant over 40 shrubs and trees, all native and beneficial for wildlife habitat, on the other berms near the church sign. These trees are being donated to UUCWC. They will be protected with tubes and stakes and will provide shade and a natural screen for the street. We will also add some white-blossoming, shade-loving perennials to our Memorial Garden. 

Help be a part of an autumn “Earth Day” and help our own green space and a piece of the Earth. Contact Earthministry@uucwc.org for more information.