VIGO COUNTY, Ind – Riverscape’s vision of turning an abandoned, contaminated automotive junkyard into a pollinator habitat has come true.

The pollinator project sits on the eastern banks of the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area. The pollinator installation closes out Phase I.

The project was made possible by a $20,000 grant from Duke Energy. 

Pollinator week runs from June 22nd-28th, 2020. “This project aims to help reverse some of the population declines by creating a habitat for the monarch butterfly to reproduce in,” Duke Energy District Manager Rick Burger said. From a bird’s eye view, the pollinator space is the shape of a butterfly wing. “The newly planted pollinator plants will help support the monarch butterflies as they migrate from Canada and the United States to central Mexico, this fall,” Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent, Adam Grossman said.

Phase II of the project will bring an increase of visitors to interact with the pollinators.

The Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department with support from Riverscape applied for and was granted a grant from IDNR to help build onto the existing trail system in Vigo County. “The new addition will trace the eastern banks of the Wabashiki,” Riverscape’s President Michael Shaw said. Once Phase II is completed next year, visitors will be able to run/walk/ride continuously from eastern Vigo County to the Wabashiki on the western side of the county.