AASHTO Journal - Maryland DOT Highlights Pollinator, Tree Planting Efforts

The Maryland Department of Transportation recently expanded its program for providing pollinator habitats along highway rights-of-way, while simultaneously opening the application period for a related program supporting a broader Maryland initiative to plant five million trees by 2031 statewide.

[Above photo by the Maryland DOT]

First, the Maryland State Highway Administration – a division of Maryland DOT – recently installed several new pollinator sites to establish native meadows and “demonstration gardens” as part of its “Pollinator Habitat Plan.”

The agency said in a statement that its crews built “demonstration gardens” not only to attract pollinators – such as birds and insects – but to help educate agency staff, industry stakeholders, and the public about the importance role pollination activity plays in supporting robust plant life and ecosystems.

Those particular pollinator sites are designed to attract butterflies, bees, beetles, wasps, flies, moths, and birds, the agency added, with Maryland home to over 400 species of native bees – one of the most important groups of pollinators in the state.

Meanwhile, the Maryland DOT is now accepting applications for the sixth round of funding of its Urban Tree Grant Program through July 15.

Grants are available to communities impacted by transportation projects and seek to help urban areas affected by environmental justice issues or the “heat island effect,” which refers to urbanized communities that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Recipients can receive up to $5,000 in funding for tree plantings, with more available for pocket forest projects, the agency said.

“Native trees planted with funds from this program will grow to provide shade in cities across the state and cool temperatures in pavement prone areas,” noted Maryland DOT Secretary Paul Wiedefeld in a statement, noting that eligible recipients for this program are nonprofit organizations, schools, local business associations, plus youth and civic groups.

The Urban Tree Grant Program – which is a partnership between the Maryland DOT, the Maryland Urban and Community Forest Committee, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources – has awarded over $120,000 across more than 40 communities since launching in 2022, resulting in the planting of about 2,000 trees.

Maryland DOT is one of several state agencies involved in the “Growing 5 Million Trees” initiative – established by the “Tree Solutions Now Act” passed by the state legislature in 2021 – that is led by a commission chaired by the Maryland Department of the Environment.