Grasso Pollinator Alliance was founded because someone had to step up: at the local level, in our own communities, with real hands-on action.
One out of every three bites of food you eat exists because of pollinators. In South Jersey, home to some of the most ecologically unique and agriculturally productive land in the Northeast, this crisis hits close to home. The Pinelands, our farms, our neighborhoods, and our green spaces are all feeling the impact.
Development, road construction, and land-use changes are breaking apart the connected habitats pollinators depend on to find food, nest, and migrate. Isolated green patches simply cannot support healthy populations. Without connected corridors, even thriving colonies eventually collapse.
Rising temperatures and shifting seasons are disrupting the precise timing between when plants bloom and when pollinators emerge. This "phenological mismatch" means bees and butterflies can no longer reliably find the food they need at the right time, threatening entire generations.
Widespread pesticide use, including neonicotinoids, damages pollinator nervous systems, impairs navigation, and reduces reproduction. Even well-intentioned lawn and garden treatments can be lethal to the bees and butterflies we rely on.
The spread of non-native turf grass and ornamental plants has replaced the native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees that pollinators co-evolved with over thousands of years. Without the right plants, there is simply no food or shelter for native bee and butterfly species.
Impervious surfaces and the loss of native vegetation are worsening flooding and runoff in South Jersey communities. Native pollinator habitats are a natural solution: absorbing rain, filtering pollutants, and protecting neighborhoods while providing critical wildlife habitat.
The New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, one of the largest and most ecologically significant natural areas on the East Coast, runs through our backyard. It is home to rare species found nowhere else on Earth. And it is under serious threat.
Our work doesn't stop at the Pinelands boundary. Across Gloucester, Camden, Salem, and Atlantic Counties, in communities like Mays Landing, Sewell, and Swedesboro, urban and suburban neighborhoods are just as much in need of pollinator habitat as the Pinelands themselves.
Every lawn converted to native plants, every school garden planted, every roadside restored is a victory for the whole ecosystem.
Including Sewell & Swedesboro
Urban & suburban communities
Agricultural & rural landscapes
Including Mays Landing
No one was filling this role at the local, community level in South Jersey. Don Grasso, with decades of experience in building trades, landscape design, turf grass management, and horticulture, saw the gap and stepped up to fill it.
We know South Jersey's soils, microclimates, and native plant communities. Our work is grounded in real, hands-on experience, not just theory.
As active members of the trades community and South Jersey neighborhoods, we have the relationships and trust to make things happen on the ground.
We uniquely engage veterans in therapeutic stewardship programs, building community, skills, and conservation outcomes simultaneously.
Lasting change requires understanding. We reach 500 to 800 students annually and countless community members with the knowledge to become lifelong stewards.
“In South Jersey, our lands aren't just beautiful. They're essential to our way of life, from farming to recreation. By focusing on native plants and grassroots involvement, we're empowering residents to protect pollinators and preserve our natural heritage for generations.”Don Grasso, Founder & President
The problem is real, but so is the solution. Fund it, join it, or plant it yourself.