Environmental Education & Outreach · Long Island, NY
Brothers Aidan and Ben Ellis design and build planter benches full of Long Island native plants, then install them in parks, libraries, and nature centers so people can meet the plants that feed our bees, butterflies, and birds.
Native Pollinator Planter
Native pollinator plants play a critical role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, but their importance is often overlooked. By installing these planter benches, we aim to increase public awareness while showcasing the beauty and benefits of native plants.
Through grants and private sponsorships, we seek to raise funds for the materials needed to expand this project by installing additional planter benches in parks and near schools and libraries, creating accessible educational spaces for the community.
Installations
Each one is free to visit, planted for pollinators with Long Island natives at the core, and built to last for decades.
Newest · No. 5 · September 28, 2026Syosset, NY · Nassau County
A Corten steel pollinator planter with a laser-cut aluminum artwork plaque at the front of Syosset High School, coordinated and designed by Aidan Ellis and planted with the Syosset High School Environmental Club.
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Plan your garden
Play
Native or Invasive photo quiz, What’s That Bug, Who Eats This, a daily species puzzle, flashcards, and printable field bingo. All built from the plants and pests on this site.
The Plants
Every pollinator bench is planted with straight-species natives chosen for three seasons of bloom.
Echinacea purpurea
The workhorse of the pollinator garden: months of nectar for bees and butterflies, then seed heads that feed goldfinches all winter.
Asclepias syriaca
Monarch caterpillars eat only milkweeds, and this is the classic one. No milkweed, no monarchs.
Monarda didyma
Shaggy scarlet flowers that hummingbirds cannot resist, on a fragrant plant you can make tea from.
Solidago spp.
The most important late-season nectar source in the Northeast, and it does not cause hay fever.
Guides
Practical, Long Island-specific guides written from what we've learned building and planting.
how-to · 9 min read
A step-by-step guide to planting a native pollinator garden on Long Island: choosing a site, removing turf, picking plants for three seasons of bloom, planting, and the low-maintenance care that keeps bees and butterflies coming back.
monarchs · 6 min read
Tropical milkweed is sold everywhere as monarch food, but on Long Island it can disrupt migration and spread the OE parasite. Here is the science, and the three native milkweeds to plant instead.
native plants · 6 min read
Double coneflowers, purple-leaved ninebark, sterile butterfly bush: why many garden-center hybrids and cultivars feed fewer pollinators than straight native species, and how to tell which ones are still worth planting.
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Support the project
Grants and private sponsorships pay for the steel, soil, and native plants. Every planter bench becomes a permanent, public lesson in why native plants matter, and every dollar goes toward the next one.
