Increasing Native Pollinator Services through Research, Restoration, and Education

As the global demand for food increases, so does global food production. Approximately thirty percent of human food crops need to be pollinated by insects, but these insects must be diverse in species in order for global pollination to be effective and efficient. Unfortunately, pollinator diversity is on the decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, pesticides, invasive species, and climate change around the globe. This decline in abundance and diversity of native pollinators has brought awareness to the fact that there is a great need for more native pollinator habitat. The Sustainable Farms team, in conjunction with the Environmental Leader- ship Program (ELP), creates a conservation plan that includes an educational pollinator garden and a pollinator hedgerow for our partners at the Berggren Demonstration Farm. The Sustainable Farms team provides recommendations for the farm; identifying plants, shrubs, and habitats that encourage native pollinators to forage and nest in the area. In addition, the Sustainable Farms Team conducts research at local blueberry farms; analyzing the pollination services that native bumblebees provide for blueberry bushes. Research done at the Berggren Demonstration farm, as well as the local blueberry farms, provides information about native pollina- tor behavior, as well as how to increase pollination services in a specific area.