Guest Blog by: Danielle Wendt, Chesapeake Conservation Corps Member, National Wildlife Federation Mid-Atlantic Regional Center
The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed has advocated for federal funding for the Delaware River Watershed for years. With funding through The Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund, Sacred Grounds Wilmington is putting those federal dollars to work building a closely-clustered pollinator corridor.
Members of Sacred Grounds Wilmington pose for a group photo during their Site Preparation Workshop at New Pentecostal United Holy Church. Photo Credit: Blane Henry
Although Wilmington, Delaware is home to many beautiful gardens, the distribution of greenery in the city is inequitable. Community members living in frontline neighborhoods have historically been denied access to greenspace. National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and its project partners are teaming up with Wilmington’s diverse faith community to change that.
Sacred Grounds is a nation-wide NWF program that recognizes houses of worship, congregations, and faith communities who create wildlife habitat and engage their neighborhoods in environmental stewardship. To create authentic and robust localized partnerships, each iteration of Sacred Grounds has slightly different requirements, outcomes, and collaborators, based upon the needs and desires of each community. Sacred Grounds Wilmington is a partnership between NWF, Delaware Nature Society (DNS), Delaware Interfaith Power & Light (DIPL), Delaware Center for Horticulture (DCH), and Wilmington’s over 15,000 member faith community.
Sacred Grounds Wilmington project partners from each organization celebrate the completion of their first year of the program. Photo Credit: Rev. Dr. Jeanne Boardman
All participating Sacred Grounds Wilmington congregations received a Mini-grant of $1,500 to install pollinator habitat on their grounds, purchase necessary garden supplies and tools, and host community engagement activities. In addition, the congregations committed to forming a green team, participating in workshops about the importance of native plants and pollinators, and engaging their larger community.
Wilmington is a highly industrialized area of Delaware. It is part of the Christina Basin, which supplies water to more than 70% of Delaware residents. In Wilmington, Sacred Grounds took root in 2021 with funding through The Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund.
“The federal funding in Wilmington is bringing resources to communities that have been historically under-resourced while also encountering environmental injustices in some areas,” says Kerry Wilson, Habitat Outreach Manager for DNS. “This funding not only brings funds but also allows us to build partnerships with communities that we may not have had the resources to work with in the past.”
Environmental justice has been a focus of the program, which prioritizes sites in underserved communities, flood-prone neighborhoods, and areas with limited access to nature. Project partners also have the goal of representing the diverse spectrum of faiths within the Wilmington community for their chosen sites.
Sacred Grounds Wilmington’s Pollinator Corridor: Ecological Benefits
The pollinator garden at Westminster Presbyterian Church in bloom in Spring 2023. Photo Credit: Sally Buttner
Inequitable access to nature is not only an environmental justice issue, it also harms wildlife navigating a fragmented habitat. The goal of the program is to create a strong, localized pollinator corridor to provide access to nature for both community members and native pollinators, particularly the three identified NFWF priority species: Common eastern bumblebee, monarch butterfly, and frosted elfin.
The Sacred Grounds Wilmington three NFWF priority species: Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), Frosted elfin (Callophrys irus), and Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens). Photo Credit: Helen Andersen; USFWS; Bill Ravlin
In addition to providing wildlife habitat for pollinators, the Sacred Grounds Wilmington gardens will also provide stormwater management and water filtration. The completed gardens are estimated to reduce 6,000 pounds of suspended solids, 1.36 pounds of nitrogen, and 2.6 pounds of phosphorus and detain 12,420 gallons of stormwater per year.
Sacred Grounds Wilmington also seeks to uplift Wilmington’s 2028 Comprehensive Plan. The program relates to all five goals listed within said plan to create a more vibrant, sustainable, and resilient city: “Strong and safe neighborhoods; Healthy and thriving communities; Robust local economy; Connected city and region, and Sustainable and resilient city.”
By the end of 2023, 21 Houses of Worship will have installed pollinator gardens, engaged their communities around the importance of environmental stewardship, and become designated Sacred Grounds sites.
A map of the 21 Sacred Grounds Wilmington sites, Cohort I (Blue) and Cohort II (Green). Map Credit: Danielle Wendt
The many successes of Sacred Grounds Wilmington demonstrate that faith communities are powerful trusted community anchors capable of transforming community spaces and disseminating an environmental ethic to their congregation and larger community!
If you are interested in learning more about Sacred Grounds Wilmington, please contact Natalie Cohen, CohenN@nwf.org.