Georgia DOT Receives National Pollinator Roadside Management Award
September 9, 2016 /3BL Media/ - Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) won the 2016 North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Pollinator Roadside Management Award, after being nominated by The Ray.
The award recognizes transportation agencies who lead the field in pollinator-friendly roadside practices, which can play a significant role in boosting pollinator habitat nationwide, including habitat for the imperiled monarch butterfly.
The first place award was presented to Chris DeGrace, GDOT landscape architect, at the National Roadside Vegetation Management Association’s annual conference in Franklin, Tennessee by Pollinator Partnership Executive Director, Laurie Davies Adams. In the past 14 years, GDOT has planted approximately 2,700 acres of roadside wildflowers statewide utilizing proceeds from the sales of wildflower-themed vehicle license plates.
Every fall, GDOT produces and distributes thousands of wildflower seed packets containing a regional native mix of wildflower seed to educate, raise awareness and increase plantings statewide. In 2016, the seed packets are being produced in partnership with The Ray. The packets feature a pollinator mix of regional native wildflower and pollinator plants.
The Ray, officially known as the Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway, is an 18-mile corridor on Interstate 85 that connects exits 1 and 18 – from West Point, Ga., to LaGrange, Ga.
