Community Gardens

About the Pollinator Garden

Along with the Community Garden expansion, the EMSWCD grant enabled the City to enhance the garden and park with a large pollinator garden. This pollinator garden consists of hundreds of native plants of various varieties. Not only does this pollinator garden help the adjacent community garden, but it also provides much-needed space, food, and shelter for our pollinator friends like birds, bees, and butterflies. Creating meaningful spaces like this increases native biodiversity, supports pollination, helps maintain healthy ecosystems, and provides community engagement and learning opportunities. Even if you don’t have a large space in your home, you can still help create pocket pollinator spaces with container gardens.

Dedicating the Pollinator Garden

At its meeting on May 12, 2026, the City Council dedicated the pollinator garden space to Kirstin Dirks, who passed away from cancer this past December. Kirstin, who was married to City Manager Greg Dirks, loved pollinators and had several pollinator gardens at home. Through a donation from the Kirstin Dirks Legacy Foundation, the pollinator garden will be receiving a custom butterfly bench for the community to enjoy and spend time in the garden. The Foundation will also be adding educational and informational signs to the garden over the coming months.

The Community Garden and pollinator space represent more than just new plots and native plants; they represent a place where neighbors can connect, learn, grow, and enjoy the natural beauty around us. We invite the community to visit the pollinator garden and see firsthand how small efforts can create a lasting impact for people, plants, and pollinators.

Pollinator Garden Plant List

See the table below for a look at how many plants make up the nearly 1,500 square foot pollinator garden. In total, the City added over 500 hundred native plant species and nearly an additional 200 hundred pollinator-friendly plants.