A Stewardship Plan for a Pollinator Meadow Garden at Bloedel Reserve

Abstract

Complex ecological design projects that address issues of biodiversity loss are bridging disciplines of landscape architecture, restoration ecology, and environmental planning. Through these combined efforts, landscape architects are restoring degraded lands and improving the quality of habitat and human health across a variety of environments. As a result, we can set the stage for healthy ecosystems to unfold. Landscape architects can develop stewardship plans not only to facilitate collaboration between disciplines, but also to articulate clear goals and performance outcomes for the projects they design. This thesis provides an account of the resources, methods, and insights gained from generating a customized stewardship plan for the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The goal of this professional project thesis was to create a stewardship plan for a newly implemented pollinator meadow garden located at the Bloedel Reserve. The stewardship plan summarizes the vision of the design, provides the context for understanding the meadow as an ecosystem, and identifies important elements of the visitor experience. In addition, it includes recommendations on how to adaptively manage and measure the performance of the project.