Biodiversity Working Group Meeting Minutes 1/15/25

[Erin Johanns]

Greetings Biodiversity Working Group members, 

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting last night. We were able to hone on a couple of our top initiatives that we'll be focusing on for this spring and figure out some next steps. 

1. Native Wildflower Gardens - public parks and private residences 
2. Educating DGS Workers on Plant Identification 

1)In order to get started on the Native Wildflower Gardens we will need to schedule meetings with the City Gardener and Commissioner of DGS. I have already reached out to the City Gardener and am waiting to hear back. 

We are looking to section off portions of selected City Parks (end goal all parks) to plant native flowers, grasses, and shrubs. These meetings should determine feasibility, best locations, first parks, DGS's and the City Gardener's landscaping needs, and what support the working group will need to provide. Lincoln Park has already been identified as a flood zone/wetland and there are current plans to install a pollinator garden. Let's see if we can support these efforts. 

As for private native wildflower gardens, we will need to distribute more information to the public. We need to communicate that this is a viable option as well as the rules, regulations, and best practices. Public engagement and excitement will be key. 

We can loop in other groups like ITECA, PRISM, Wild Ones, Home Earth Alliance, and other local environmental orgs to help spread the word. We can also give out this information to local businesses, landscapers, and going door to door. Flyers were identified as the best method. 

Scott also suggested having Native Garden workshops aspart of Earth Day events such as SEED. Love Your Block would be willing to donate some of our American Meadows North East Pollinator Wildflower Mix to distribute. *We will need to check the Lupin variety to make sure it does not interfere with the Karner Blue Butterfly's Wild Blue Lupin 

If anyone has any other more suitable names they would like to suggest for the Native Wildflower Garden project, please chime in! 

2)Educating DGS workers will require us to collect and put together easily digestible information on plant identifications. We will determine the best distribution methods when meeting with the City Gardener and DGS Commissioner. 

Other side projects include: 

3. Reducing the City's 10" max height rule for mowing 
4. Designating sites within the City as flood zones and identify wetlands to be protected 

3)Extending the 10" rule or making exceptions is also under the jurisdiction of DGS and could probably be handled in a one on one meeting with them. Any thoughts on whether this initiative should be brought up at the same time that we discuss the City park's gardens or if it should be a separate conversation?

In the meantime, we will need to collect information to present on the criteria for a wildflower garden for DGS to differentiate between overgrown weedy aggressive and invasives and intentionally cultivated native pollinator space. 

4)Whitehall was identified as a site but then rejected because it doesn't meet wetland classification due to canopy structure and difficulty identifying the understory from frequent mowing. The surrounding neighborhood may have been a wetland in the past and the area currently has some flooding. Neighbors to the park still want to have greater protections from mowing. 

We can use GIS layers to identify other wetlands across the City and move forward from there to see if we can protect them. 

Tasks to Complete Before Next Meeting Thursday 2/12 6 pm 

5. 
   

Jason 

• Reach out to Frank and Sergio about scheduling a meeting for Native Plant gardens in the City Parks 
• See if can share the Lincoln Park Plans for Wetland and Pollinator Garden 

Zack 

• Ask DEC if we can use their GIS layers for Wetland Identification and see what we find 

Erin

• Follow up with City Gardener about meeting 

Skye

• Create a list of best gardening practices for Residential Wildflower Garden 

Emma and Erin 

• Gather Info for Wildflower Garden Criteria for DGS 
• Research rules and regulations for residential gardening in the City
• Start creating flyers for Residential Wildflower Gardens  

Looking forward to our next meeting! 

Erin Johanns 

Love Your Block Program Coordinator

She/Her/Hers 
ejoh...@albanyny.gov
518-434-5281

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