Growing with Community Support and Feedback
In February 2024, DC Natives shared a survey with our community of pollinator garden program participants in an effort to improve our work. We’re deeply grateful to dozens of community members who took the time to respond to the survey, and are humbled by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received.
Community members who participated in the survey were among people who have worked with DC Natives to create a pollinator garden since 2017. 93% of respondents said they see pollinators like butterflies, bees and hummingbirds in their gardens. It’s no surprise given 91% said they regularly watered, and 84% said they weeded their gardens regularly.
We are proud to see participants in our pollinator garden program continue to engage with the beautiful spaces we’ve created together.
I LOVE my garden. It has been a source of joy. Working it helps my anxiety, it has given me a point of connection with my neighbors, and it is a beautiful entry point for our family home.
DC Natives program participant
We were also proud to see that our community feels our pollinator garden program is largely accessible. 88.5% of survey respondents said our program was accessible to people with all levels of gardening ability, 65% said it is accessible to people of all ages, and 71% said it is accessible to people from different income levels. Participants shared that we could improve our accessibility to people with different levels of physical ability, with only 40% saying our program is accessible to people in all levels of physical ability. Our team will be working on improving this aspect of our program to reach more neighbors.
What I need is support, support, support!
DC Natives program participant
Nearly 95% of respondents said they felt supported by DC Natives in varying degrees throughout their pollinator garden process. Participants said they found our support with garden design, planting, and access to plants most helpful. 94% of respondents said they had a positive experience with DC Natives and would like to continue partnering with us to maintain their gardens.
Community members had great suggestions for how we can support them going forward. The suggestions we heard most frequently were access to more educational opportunities for gardeners to learn about native plants and maintenance. Participants suggested we create videos featuring native plants on our social media, host webinars or classes, and distribute regular emails about taking care of gardens throughout the year and in different seasons.
We’re excited to hear our community wants more engagement and partnership. To respond to this need, DC Natives is launching an educational program called First Flower Fridays: The DC Natives Demonstration Garden Series.
