North American native
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
The workhorse of the pollinator garden: months of nectar for bees and butterflies, then seed heads that feed goldfinches all winter.
JanBlooms Jun–SepDec
Installation No. 2 · October 4, 2023
Hicksville Public Library
A pollinator planter outside the Hicksville Public Library, installed in October 2023 with the support of Nice-Planter and recognized with a citation from the Nassau County Legislature.
The second Pollinate Happiness installation brought native pollinator plants to a busy public space: the front garden of the Hicksville Public Library on Jerusalem Avenue, where thousands of patrons pass every week.
Nice-Planter, a Long Island company that builds community pollinator planters, supported the project, and we are grateful for their help. The steel face carries the dandelion seed design, a nod to how native plants spread, and the PollinateHappiness.com address so visitors can learn more.
At the installation on October 4, 2023, Nassau County Legislator Rose Marie Walker presented Aidan and Ben with citations from the Nassau County Legislature recognizing their work placing planter benches in community parks and outside schools and libraries in the Town of Oyster Bay.
Visiting
- The planter is in the front garden facing Jerusalem Avenue and can be seen any time the grounds are open.
- Pair a visit with the library's gardening and nature collections inside.
Learn about the plants
What's growing at Hicksville Library
Purple coneflower anchors the planting, with seasonal color rotated in by the library's garden volunteers.
Photo gallery
Building and planting
Find it
Map
More installations
Visit the others
No. 1 · June 2021Wawapek Preserve
Cold Spring Harbor, NY · Suffolk County
Our very first native pollinator planter bench, installed in June 2021 at the North Shore Land Alliance's Wawapek Preserve with a grant from Bethpage Federal Credit Union's Difference Makers program.
Visit this installation
No. 3 · November 23, 2024Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center
Oyster Bay, NY · Nassau County
A steel pollinator planter at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center in Oyster Bay, completed November 23, 2024 as Ben Ellis's Eagle Scout project with Troop 170.
Visit this installation
No. 4 · Fall 2025Nassau County Museum of Art
Roslyn Harbor, NY · Nassau County
A wheelchair-accessible sensory planter and a set of songbird nest boxes at the Nassau County Museum of Art's William Cullen Bryant Preserve, built with Scout Troop 170 and materials donated by The Home Depot.
Visit this installation
No. 5 · September 28, 2026Syosset High School
Syosset, 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.
Visit this installationFor the plaque and classroom
- Field-trip sheet · printable, one page, with a seasonal checklist
- QR code for the sign · SVG, or high-resolution PNG
Support the project
Help us plant the next one
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.