By Monica Taylor
Magical things are happening in the pollinator triangle garden at Cullinan Park! It’s all thanks to the HEB Pollinators for Texas grants program and the Texas Master Naturalist Coastal Prairie Chapter volunteer work ethic. This pollinator area is not only loved by Cullinan Park visitors, it also serves as a demonstration site for the City of Sugar Land to showcase successful growth of native plants in shade, part shade, and full sun.
In the fall of 2024, the Texas Master Naturalist Coastal Prairie Chapter HEB grant team submitted their inaugural grant application, which was awarded to create Nina’s Garden, a 4,000-square-foot native pollinator habitat at Cullinan Park. This area was previously mowed for 50 out of 52 weeks each year, leading to moderately compressed soil. In January 2025, the full grant request was received and celebrated. The deadline to complete all grant work was October 31, 2025. Needless to say, between January and October, the team had their hands full preparing for planting, conducting a seed stomp, planting starter plants, adding a crushed granite pathway, and establishing a fence in the garden area. Everything turned out beautifully! In just one year, visitors watched a barren space turn into a habitat that attracted new native pollinators to Cullinan Park.
The grant team wrote a second HEB grant request to create signage for the Pollinator Pathway in and around Nina’s Garden. Lo and behold, the Texas Master Naturalist Coastal Prairie Chapter was one of only four chapters statewide to be awarded the full grant amount! The team dove into collecting information and creating beautiful signage for Nina’s Garden. The signage installation became an Eagle Scout Project and was completed in June 2026. If you haven’t popped into Cullinan Park lately, come by to see Nina’s Garden and the new pollinator signage.
In late August, the team received approval of the third grant proposal addressing night time pollinators. Stay tuned for updates on the next stage of pollinator habitat development at Cullinan Park!
The Texas Master Naturalist Coastal Prairie Chapter HEB Pollinators for Texas grant team thanks everyone who has helped in the grant writing process, sign design, garden creation, and ongoing garden maintenance. This effort has added a pleasing native pollinator habitat for both wildlife and visitors to Cullinan Park.