In April 2024, AdkAction, a non-profit environmental conservation and community development organization, was awarded a grant through DEC’s Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Grant Program. AdkAction will use the grant funds to convert an eight-acre grassland located on a capped landfill to a native pollinator habitat.
The Town of Indian Lake in Hamilton County where the landfill is located aims to protect pollinators, promote birding activities, and maintain ecological integrity in the area. The Town partnered with AdkAction, which has a decade of experience working on pollinator conservation issues, to complete the project.
AdkAction hired local environmental ecologist Steve Langdon and engineer Jeremy Burns to design and build the pollinator habitat. In early summer 2025, five test plots were planted with native flowering plants and seeds to study which species will grow best at the site.
They plan to examine factors such as soil condition, exposure, and seed mix performance. One of the five test plots was left undisturbed to monitor naturally occurring vegetation. This research will help AdkAction develop effective planting strategies for the pollinator habitat, and reflects the project’s goal to work with the land’s existing characteristics.
The pollinator habitat is expected to be completed in 2027. The area will include a recreational trail that will be open in spring through fall each year. This will provide residents and visitors with the opportunity to experience a grassland ecosystem, which is less common in the heavily forested Adirondack Park.
You can learn more about AdkAction on their website.
Read more about grasslands in New York.
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