Cheshire Pollinator Pathway Hosts Free Film Screening at Whitney Center in Hamden

Cheshire Pollinator Pathway Hosts Free Film Screening at Whitney Center in Hamden

The Cheshire Pollinator Pathway co-hosted a free public screening of the 2025 environmental documentary The Little Things That Run the World on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at the Whitney Center at 200 Leeder Hill Drive in Hamden. The event, presented in partnership with the Hamden Land Conservation Trust and sponsored by the Petit Family Foundation, drew attendees interested in pollinator conservation and native plant restoration.

Doors opened at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments and networking, with the film starting at 7:00 p.m. Registration was available through the film's community screening platform.

About the Film and the Initiative

The Little Things That Run the World, directed by Doug Hawes-Davis of High Plains Films, with Dru Carr serving as director of photography and editor, examines the rapid decline of insect populations globally, following scientists, gardeners, and farmers investigating causes of the collapse — from habitat loss and pesticide use to light pollution — and exploring potential solutions. Insects, the film argues, are the foundational link in most ecosystems.

The screening is among the public outreach activities of the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway, a grassroots all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2019 with the goal of creating pesticide-free corridors of native plants throughout Cheshire. Founded by Joy VanderLek, with Joanna deBear serving as vice president, the organization initially operated under the umbrella of the Coalition for a Sustainable Cheshire before incorporating as an independent nonprofit in June 2023.

Gardens Along the Farmington Canal

The Cheshire Pollinator Pathway has installed multiple native plant gardens along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Cheshire, including a garden near the Lock 12 Historic Site on North Brooksvale Road — the group's first, approved by the town in October 2019 and designed by landscape designer Kathy Connolly. Additional plantings have been established near the West Main Street section adjacent to Ball & Socket Arts.

The group also launched a native tree and shrub nursery at Boulder Knoll Community Farm to supply plants for future gardens and provide community members with access to native species. Planting partners include the Mill River Watershed Association.

The Cheshire Chamber of Commerce named the Pollinator Pathway its Nonprofit of the Year in 2024 at the Chamber's 50th Anniversary Awards ceremony. The Connecticut House of Representatives, through Representatives Liz Linehan and Lezlye Zupkus, issued the organization a formal citation recognizing its work.

A Statewide Conservation Network

The Cheshire Pollinator Pathway is part of a broader movement that has grown to more than 85 participating towns across Connecticut and New York since the Pollinator Pathway program launched in 2017. The national network encourages residents to pledge pesticide-free native plantings on their property — anything from a container garden to a full meadow — to create linked habitat corridors that support bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.

Pollinators are essential to agricultural productivity and ecosystem health. Their decline, driven by habitat fragmentation, pesticide use, and the widespread replacement of native plants with ornamental and non-native species, has prompted conservation efforts at local, state, and federal levels. The Cheshire group has testified before the Connecticut legislature in support of pesticide-related legislation.

Residents interested in learning more about the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway, participating in future plantings, or pledging a native garden can visit the group's website or contact founder Joy VanderLek.

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