10/1/2019
Walmart Testing Pollinator Gardens
Jennifer Polanz
The retail giant has started a pilot project of planting 21 pollinator gardens at stores in Oregon, Washington and North Carolina, according to Walmart.
The company issued a media release about the initiative at the end of August: “To kick off this pilot project, the first garden was planted in April 2019 at a Walmart retail location in Garner, North Carolina. A garden has also been planted at Walmart’s global corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The remaining gardens in the Pacific Northwest were planted in late April or early May.”
Company officials say the program serves a dual purpose of beautifying the store location grounds while also providing much-needed pollinator plants for bees and butterflies seeing declining numbers.
“We are delighted to initiate this pilot at some of our stores, as these flower gardens enhance our landscaping and serve as an important habitat for the birds and insects that play a vital role in plant, vegetable and fruit reproduction,” says Wendy Widener, with Walmart’s Environmental, Health and Safety Compliance team. “We have received positive feedback from our customers and associates, and are exploring opportunities to expand this project to additional store locations.” GP