On the Farm

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Oct 01

Pollinator Hedgerows at Wild Hare Organic Farm One Year Later

Posted on October 1, 2025 at 12:40 PM by Bailey Wambold

by Gracie DeMeo

Volunteers carrying buckets and using grass knives to care for pollinator friendly plants.

What a beautiful day to volunteer at a local farm!

It was Pierce Conservation District's pleasure to return to Wild Hare Organic Farm a full year after helping plan and plant a 75-foot pollinator hedgerow on their farm. In the beautiful fall sun, volunteers helped cut back grass that had grown around newly-establishing pollinator-friendly plants and applied a hefty layer of mulch to help them survive the upcoming fall and winter.

Before images of Wild Hare Farm with a newly planted pollinator hedgerowAfter images of Wild Hare Farm showing their hedgerow after a year with plants surrounded by mulch.

One year between planting and installing a pollinator hedgerow at Wild Hare Organic Farm.

Why Hedgerows?

Pollinator hedgerows are rows between crop rows on farms that are planted to provide cohesive benefits to the surrounding plants, pollinators, and beneficial insects. In addition to creating habitat for local insects, they also control weeds, act as wind breaks, decrease erosion, and much more. The best part is after a few years of maintenance, a pollinator hedgerow can maintain itself for the most part. 

So what's next? We hope to host a few more hedgerow maintenance work parties like this one to demonstrate how easy is it to maintain. 

We have more information and resources about how to install your own pollinator hedgerow on our Hedgerow Resources page.

Volunteers grouped together in front of the barn at Wild Hare farm.

Farm Planner (in training!) Lou explaining the importance of pollinator hedgerows.


Hedgerow Installation Assistance

Pierce Conservation District can help provide suggestions and planning services for pollinator hedgerows (for free!). In some cases we can also provide funding to make these projects possible.

This year we've already helped local farmers install 800 feet of hedgerows across Pierce County! If you have any questions about hedgerow planning and available funds, you can contact your farm planner:

Rene Skaggs

Farm Planning & Agricultural Assistance Program Director and Nisqually Watershed Farm Resource Specialist
renes@piercecd.org
Phone: 253.845.9770 ext. 106
Cell: (253) 325-8367

Alison Nichols

Crop Farm Manager
alisonn@piercecd.org
Phone: (253) 325-2918

Paul Borne

Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor & Islands Farm Resource Specialist
paulb@piercecd.org
Phone: (253) 325-8645

Noah Janzing

Farm Program Manager
noahj@piercecd.org
Phone: (253) 325-8820

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