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Learn why pollinators are crucial for human and ecosystem health and why they are in crisis.Pollinating animals account for nearly350,000 species globally. They are essential for the health ofecosystems. They pollinate manyfood crops and support a wide variety ofculturally important practices, from medicinal plants to dyes. However, manypollinators are facing high extinction rates globally. The crisis is especially acute for insects.One in four species of native bees in North America face extinction, and monarch butterflies havedeclined by 85 percent in the last twenty years (seeInsects Nexus).

• Pollinators are key to ecosystem health. Pollinators are critical toplant health and diversity, which in turn support ecosystem functions such as sequestering andstoring carbon, filtering and regulatingwater, air, and soil, preventing soilerosion, andcontrolling pestsand disease vectors.
• Pollinators support the food system. Overthree-quarters of the world’s food crops depend in part on pollinators, contributing to between $235 billion and $577 billion worth of global food production annually.
• Pollinators are critical for human nutrition and health. Nearly40 percent of all medicines in Western societies originate from pollinated plants, including twenty of the most-prescribed medications in the United States.
• Pollinators are in trouble. There aremultiple causes of the pollinator crisis, includinghabitat loss,disease,invasive species,urbanization andindustrial agriculture, andclimate change. A class ofinsecticide may be contributing to diseases such asColony Collapse Disorder, whichis one of the most significant threats to bee colonies, causing rapid, unexplained die-offs as high as46 percent annually in some regions. Bat populations are in decline worldwide due to avariety of threats, including killing by pet cats.

Support pollinators where you live.Pollinators needfood,water, andshelter. There are many ways to support pollinators in your community and beyond. For more ideas, seeInsects Nexus.

• Assist pollinators by creating chemical-free areas around your home, or talk to your landlord aboutlandscaping options.
• Createpollinator-friendly gardens in your area by establishing plants that attract pollinators. Refer toguides on plants in your region or contact your local nursery.
• Create designated areas for rewilding efforts to support pollinators.We Are the ARK outlines thesteps to purposefully set aside land for pollinators in your home, schools, and public places.
• Createyear-round food andwater sources for birds and other pollinators. Over the winter, when food can be scarce, crabapple, winterberry, and nuts from beech, hickory, and oak trees will be greatly appreciated.
• Learn how togarden for birds to promote nesting, protection, and food. Providing afeeder or bird bath in a space can create morebird-friendly environments.
• Here is a step-by-step guide to building “bee hotels,” and guidance onbirdhouses or nest boxes, andbat houses.
• Map pollinator diversity in your area usingiNaturalist tocount pollinators.Here is a guide to integrating your data into the Global Biotic Integration Project.
• Buy organic food, textiles, and body-care products tohelp pollinators. Support farms and ranches that implement regenerative practices (seeRegenerative Agriculture Nexus). The Xerces Society has acertification program for pollinator-friendly food production that includes a label.
• Help students create aschoolyard habitat project that benefits pollinators and develop educational curriculums.Here is a list of tools, resources, and curriculum examples for schools.
• Participate in a local land restoration project that improves pollinator habitat, such as theBorderlands Restoration Network in southern Arizona, which has a focus on native bee habitat. For more examples, seeDegraded Land Restoration Nexus.
• Most local extension services offer advice on pollinators. Use  this directory of county extension offices. The Wildlife Habitat Council offerspollinator webinars focused on pollinator-friendly practices. Michigan State University offers an online course calledPollinator Champions, andEarthwatch has a pollinatorwebinar.

Join or support organizations protecting pollinator health.Organizations and programs include:

• The Pollinator Program of theXerces Society works across the U.S. to protect and restore pollinator habitat as well as to conduct research.
• TheUK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) provides information, guides, and recording forms to take part in an annual survey.
• Bat Conservation International works to end bat extinction worldwide and offers differentways to contribute to their mission.
• BirdLife International conserves birds and their habitats, emphasizing the role ofbirds and pollination withpetitions andmembership.
• eBird allows individuals to submit bird observations, which can help inform science and policy efforts.
• TheBee Conservancy has several community-based opportunities, including a citizen scientist program known as theBeeBlitz.
• TheGlobal Rewilding Initiative teaches how to make a “rewilding stick” so you can get involved in forestation efforts.
• Join Earthwatch’sGlobal Pollinator Watch program.
• Join the Pollinator Partnership to take action on pollinator protection through volunteer activities or sign up for theirPollinator Listserv to send and receive messages on pollinators.
• Support theFederation of Nepal Beekeepers,which advocates for national policies that benefit both bees and beekeepers.

Use social media to support pollinators.Many organizations have group pages to interact with, campaigns to support, or social media guides to adapt to your own work:

• Join the Pollinator Partnership onFacebook andInstagram.
• Join the DuPage Monarch Project onFacebook.
• Follow and share Bat Conservation International’smedia kit.
• Share event materials produced during the annualPollinator Week.
• Follow thePeople and Pollinators Action Network.
• Support pollinators with Native Bee Watch’ssocial media toolkit.

Create space for pollinators. Urban planners and parks and recreation departments can help create pollinator-friendly habitats.

• This guide from the European Commission includes tips for planners and land-use managers to create favorable urban environments for pollinators.
• Manage roadsides, verges, and rights-of-way for pollinators along highways and other public roads.Here is a roadside revegetation report from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• Hamilton City in New Zealand posts about local bat populations on itswebsite provides resources on protecting bat habitats, and lends free bat detectors to their community.
• Amsterdam has replaced grass with native flowering plants, stopped using chemical weed killer in public spaces, and set upbee hotels, leading to a45 percent increase in solitary bee species recorded.
• Berlin has set aside€1.5 million to support over fifty gardens across the city.
• Astudy in four British cities shows that allotments (community gardens) and residential gardens supported the highest bee and hoverfly abundances.
• The metropolitan city of Campo Grande, Brazil, hascreated community programs to promote the appreciation and protection ofmacaws.

Protect pollinator habitats and build corridors.Landowners and agriculturalists are in a unique position to address habitat loss for pollinators. Implementinga range of regenerative practices not only supports pollinators but also improves soil health and crop yields.

• Reduce or eliminate pesticide use.Crop rotations and planting resistant crop varieties canreduce the need for pesticides. Avoid using harmful pesticides such asneonicotinoids and go organic to helppollinator survival and yourbottom line.
• Use integrated pest-management practices. AnIntegrated Pest Management (IPM) approach can prevent and reduce pesticide applications by targeting the causes of pests. Seethis guide to learn about and adopt the many tactics and controls for managing pests.
• Diversify crops overmono-cropping practices.Regenerative farming practices can increase biodiversity. Thisguide on regenerative farming comes from over a hundred farmers and ranchers sharing their insights oncover crops, no-till, and more (see theRegenerative AgricultureNexus).
• Maximize margins and corners of fields to create permanentwildflower areas. Addingflowers, leavingsoil untilled where possible, and providingbee blocks are ways tofarm with pollinators in mind.
• Plant hedgerows. This is one of thebest ways to support pollinators and can be implemented by creatinghedgerows between fields.Here is a guide for landowners from the Xerces Society.
• Support and create pollinator shelters, nesting sites, and corridors.Connect your land to nearby native habitats, woodlands, meadows, or wetlands in order to create habitat corridors. Astudy of solitary bees in Switzerland found that bees in wildflower strips had higher reproductive success across almostsix hundred nests (seeWildlife Corridors Nexus).
• Adopt agroforestry and agroecologytechniques.Integrating trees and shrubs helps supportbird populations and other pollinators, as well as protect topsoil and increase crop and livestock productivity. Learn about many common practices such as alley cropping, silvopasture, and forest farminghere. See more in theAgroforestry Nexus,Silvopasture Nexus, andAgroecology Nexus).
• Do less. Leaving areas topassively rewild orputting off mowing until the fall or winter when flowers necessary for pollinator food and nesting are not blooming are also great practices to support pollinator health.
• Utilize digital technology.BeeConnected is an internet-based system that brings farmers and beekeepers together, with the aim of assisting in bee health and pollination.

Ensure a pollinator-friendly supply chain.Companies cansupport farmers and suppliers thatintegrate best-management practices for pollinators and land use, source input materials withpollinator-friendly practices, or utilize end products with environmental certifications.

• KIND Healthy Snacksannouncedit will exclusively source its almonds from bee-friendly orchards by 2025, working with growers to eliminate certain pesticides and set aside land for pollinator health.
• The Xerces Society has afarm certification program that improves yields while protecting pollinators.
• Walmartannouncedthat by 2025, it aims to have 100 percent of its produce and flowers sourced from suppliers utilizing integrated pest-management practices.
• CVS is one of eleven grocery retailers to address pesticide use in the name of pollinator health and commit to working with partners toaudit pesticide use and practices to identify opportunities to address threats to pollinator and human health.

Invest in pollinator auditing and consulting services.Work with organizations and individuals that specialize in developing plans for habitat sites, providing insight on supply changes, or auditing facility sustainability for pollinators.

• TheXerces Society has a freeHabitat Portfolio that provides insights for private sector partners to establish pollinator habitat. They also offer consulting services.
• Pollinating London Together audits green spaces for “pollinator friendliness” of plants and pesticides, and to monitor activities of pollinators.
• Several labels exist certifying sustainable and pollinator-friendly practices, includingCertified Regenerative,Regenerative Organic Certified, Soil & Climate Initiative, andBee Better Certified.   
• The Smithsonian also offers aBird Friendly mark of approval for coffee and cocoa products, requiring organic standards that ban harmful agrochemicals, and a diversity of native trees and shrubs to be available to protect bird species.

Pollinator Partnership (U.S.) works with diverse stakeholders representing various perspectives with the goal of creating positive change for pollinators. 

Nepal Pollinator Network (Nepal) was created to bring together individuals, naturalists, educators, scientists, and policymakers who are passionate about pollinators in Nepal.

Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty Unit (Italy) defends and champions Indigenous Food Systems as a means to spark joy, community health and well-being, food sovereignty, climate resilience, and peace.

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) (UK) focuses on pollinator species reporting and data.

Pollinator Pathway (U.S.) establishes pollinator-friendly habitats and food sources for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinating insects and wildlife along a series of continuous corridors.

Global Rewilding Initiative (Scotland) works to help the global Rewilding movement to replenish natural habitats by introducing innovative planting methods such as Reseeding and the “Rewilding Stick” to a wider public.

Earthwatch: Global Pollinator Watch (Global) equips members of the public with the training and resources they need to collect data that will help us to better understand pollinator presence and abundance in regions around the world.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (U.S.) is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats.

Bat Conservation International (U.S.) conserves the world’s bats and their ecosystems to ensure a healthy planet.

BirdLife International (Global) has a network of over 2 million birders, scientists, and local volunteers that helps us to track, follow, analyze, conserve, and understand every bird species in the world.

Wildlife Habitat Council (U.S.) empowers companies to advance biodiversity, sustainability, employee engagement, and community relations goals.

We Are the ARK (U.S.) works to create safe and abundant havens for as many wild creatures as possible.

Rewilding Academy (Global) empowers #generationrestoration through capacity development in rewilding and restoring ecosystems.

Kuxtalil Co-operative Network Ladies of Honey/Queens of Their Hives (Mexico) promotes beekeeping and meliponiculture with a comprehensive approach that includes promoting biodiversity conservation in the landscape that provides nectar and pollen: the Mayan forest.

Pollinating London Together (U.K.) protects our precious pollinators and fosters a greener, more sustainable London for future generations.

Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC) (Canada) provides direct, hands-on care for reptiles, amphibians, birds,insects and mammals on the brink of extinction. 

Binita Pandey is the founder and executive president of Nepal Pollinator Network.

Gary Nabhan is an ethnobotanist, author, and aquaculture ecologist.

Roque Arroyo Rodríguez is a Pollinator Advocate for Mexico, developing local stingless beekeeping cooperatives.

Sarah Bergmann is the founder of Pollinator Pathway.

Vicki Wojcik is the director of Pollinator Partnership Canada.

Leydy Pech is an Indigenous Mayan beekeeper and member of the Ladies of Honey.

Scott Black is a conservationist and executive director of Xerces Society.

Gemma Cranston is the director of the Business and Nature team working on safeguarding pollinators.

The Pollinators Documentary Film (92 mins.)

The Power of Pollinators by Nature on PBS (6 mins.)

People, Plants, and Pollinators by National Geographic (21 mins.)

11 MUST Grow Pollinator Garden Plants by Epic Gardening (10 mins.)

More Than Honey Documentary, Directed by Markus Imhooh (95 mins.)

Power for Pollinators by Tree Media (19 mins.)

Tube-Lipped Nectar Bat: Untamed Americas by National Geographic (3 mins.)

Pollination Life of Birds Webinar by Audubon Arkansas (54 mins.)

Unusual Pollinators by Brilliant Botany (3 mins.)

Into the Garden: Bats as Pollinators by UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute TESI (38 mins.)

The Truth About Bats (Full Documentary) by Lightfoot Film (13 mins.)

How to Bring Biodiversity Back to American Prairies by NowThisEarth (5 mins.)

We Are the ARK: Returning Our Gardens to Their True Nature Through Acts of Restorative Kindness by Mary Reynolds / Timber Press

Planting for Wildlife: A Grower’s Guide to Rewilding Your Garden by Jane Moore / Quadrille

The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardeningby Kim Eierman / Quarry Books

Pollinator-Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators by Rhonda Fleming Hayes / Voyageur Press

Pollinators in Peril: A Systematic Status Review of North American and Hawaiian Native Bees by Kelsey Kopec and Lori Ann Burd / Center for Biological Diversity

Pollination: The Enduring Relationship between Plant and Pollinator by Timothy Walker / Princeton University Press

Pollinators and Pollination: Nature and Society by Jeff Ollerton / Pelagic Publishing

The Forgotten Pollinators by Stephen L. Buchmann / Island Press

The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals by Merlin Tuttle / Mariner Books

The Great Georgia Pollinator Podcast

PolliNation Podcast

Beekeeping Today Podcast

2 Million Blossoms: The Podcast

Protecting Pollinators: How to Save the Creatures That Feed Our World (Audiobook) by Jodi Helmer (6 hrs. 15 mins.)