The Kingston Land Trust, along with 28 other organizations statewide, got money from a recent litigation settlement made by state Attorney General Letitia James as part of a $505,000 initiative to sow pollinator gardens across the state.

The money comes from a 2023 settlement from litigation filed against Bayer CropScience and Monsanto for, the plaintiffs said, misleading information behind Roundup weedkiller’s harmful effect on pollinator plants. The funding is a part of the second and final rounds of grant awards as part of the $3.45 million New York Pollinator Conservation Fund.

Though the total cost of the settlement exceeds this grant funding significantly, of the $505k dispersed, $419,000 is the core awarded by James’ office. Some $86,000 comes from the New York Community Trust, a community foundation that funds charities across the state.

Under New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the organizations which received grant money fell under an ascertained category of “historically underrepresented in government funding programs.” Each awarded organization pitched a project that the funds would go towards, which fell under four categories: habitat creation and restoration, procurement and installation of native plants and sustainable horticultural practices, workforce development and public education.

Kingston Wire spoke to Tom O’Dowd, the KLT’s land stewardship coordinator, who worked closely on the grant submission, about what qualifies Kingston as “historically underrepresented.” He noted that this has to do with Kingston being “considered an environmental justice area with underserved socioeconomic groups.”

“Too often cities where there are factories and pollution don’t get access to clear water, clean air and green spaces. Kingston Land Trust is one of many groups trying to think beyond taking care of trees and flowers and bunnies,” O’Dowd said. The land trust has made a major part of their mission beautifying Kingston’s neighborhoods and creating engaging educational social events that place nature at the forefront of the conversation.

The KLT’s Land in Black Hands Land Base, a 50+ acre property located off of Wilbur Avenue, provides land access, housing and educational opportunities for indigenous and people of color. The workshops and gatherings prioritize topics such as food sovereignty, land-based healing, youth pathways and Black agrarian traditions. It is not currently open to the public but is available for private tours.

The one-year grants dispersed ranged from $5,000 - $20,000; Kingston Land Trust got the maximum. Their project adds six new pollinator gardens – four across the City of Kingston and one each in the towns of Ulster and Hurley. These stewarded properties include the Red Fox Ravine, Forest Sanctuary, Land in Black Hands, Brinks Lane, Buckley and Murray Street.

O’Dowd worked on the grant with KLT’s grants manager and, importantly, personnel from the Hudson Valley Bee Habitat. Group founders Emily Puthoff and Elena Sniezek have worked closely with the land trust on their Pollinator Sanctuary, which is located at the Forest Sanctuary near JFK Elementary School.

HVBH’s mission is to design pollinator gardens and sculptural bee habitats to beautify, enliven and educate garden visitors. The sculptures are created in hexagonal shapes, modeling after the shape of a honeycomb. The sustainably-made sculptures don’t only support honeybees though, which are technically an invasive species. They mainly support the many native, solitary bees as well as other pollinators, including butterflies, birds and bats.

HVBH has plans to place pollinator habitats throughout the Kingston “Bee-Line” – a forthcoming project that will present a network of pollinator gardens, habitats and community art throughout and adjacent to the Midtown corridor. Part of the grant funds are going towards building more of their sculptural habitats throughout Kingston.

The educational aspect of the sculptures includes information plaques on their surfaces with scannable QR codes for people to learn more.

KLT also works with the HVBH along with Scenic Hudson and the Bee Conservancy on their pollinator-focused “bio-blitzes,” which are active events that teach participants about the pollinators and pollinator plants in their neighborhood parks as they inventory them on site.

The timeline for these new gardens, O’Dowd said, is set to begin rolling out this fall and are predicted to be finished by the end of 2027.

Learn more about the Kingston Land Trust and their many initiatives here.