Stanford L. Warren Branch Library Native Pollinator Demonstration Garden Earns National Honor

Durham, NC — The Stanford L. Warren Branch Library has been recognized with a 2026 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for its Native Pollinator Demonstration Garden. The NACo awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents.

The Library will receive the award at the 2026 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition in New Orleans, La., on Sunday, July 19. Go to the NACo website to see a list of all the honorees, including other Durham County Government departments.

This garden is a vibrant pollinator paradise brought to life through community partnership between the N.C. State Extension Master Gardener volunteers of Durham County, the Durham County Library, and Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The garden, located at Stanford L. Warren Branch Library at 1201 Fayetteville Street in the Hayti Neighborhood, was designed, planted, and cultivated by those groups. It opened in late 2024 and had a spring and summer of 2025 showing off beautiful plants and greeting our pollinator friends.

“The native pollinator garden at the Stanford L. Warren Branch Library is both a treasured community asset and an inspiring educational space. We are thrilled that the National Association of Counties has recognized its significance,” said Durham County Library Director Dana Conners. “We hope that when residents visit the garden, it sparks the kind of curiosity and wonder that encourages them to continue exploring and learning inside the library.”

Stanford L. Warren Branch Library was selected as the site for the new garden during its extensive renovation project, which culminated in a grand reopening in winter 2024. When the updated facility was left with empty planting beds – originally slated to be filled with grass – it opened the door to a more inspired vision: transforming the space into a welcoming, thoughtfully designed landscape that complements the renewed building.

Seeing the opportunity to create an ecologically rich space that could also serve as a hands-on learning environment an Extension Master Gardener (EMG) team, led by Flora O’Brien, in developed a demonstration garden where Durham residents can explore, practice, and share sustainable gardening techniques.

“This project was a wonderful opportunity to bring together community partners to learn side by side and create a space that is both beautiful and educational for the library,” said Ashley Troth, Horticulture Agent with Durham County Cooperative Extension. “The leadership and vision of the Master Gardener volunteers were essential, and the project truly succeeded thanks to the contributions of the library staff – including Stanford L. Warren Branch Location Manager Larry Daniels – and the support of Annabel Renwick and her team from Duke Gardens.”

Ultimately, the garden has empowered library staff with new horticultural knowledge and provided Stanford L. Warren with a dynamic teaching resource that enhances its educational programming.

“The garden has added a vibrant and meaningful touch to our newly renovated library,” said Daniels. “It has sparked a renewed appreciation for gardening within our community, highlighting its environmental importance and lasting impact. With the addition of pollinator-friendly plantings, we also wanted to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to gardening and horticulture. That vision inspired us to host The African American Legacy on Gardening and Horticulture Symposium and launch the Hattie Meadows Gardening School in collaboration with Durham Extension.”

Be on the lookout for future events at Stanford L. Warren Branch Library by visiting the Durham County Library Events website or the Durham County Cooperative Extension website.

For more information about the Stanford L. Warren Branch Library’s Demonstration Pollinator Garden, visit the Extension Master Gardener’s website.

Each year, NACo’s Achievement Awards recognize outstanding programming in 18 categories aligned with the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. The categories include children and youth, criminal justice and public safety, libraries, management, information technology, health, civic engagement and more. Launched in 1970, the program is designed to celebrate innovation in county government. Each nominated program is judged on its own merits and not against other applications.

For more information about NACo’s Achievement Awards, visit NACo’s website.