Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Animals: bees

• Pollinators: habitat, other

Target Pests

• Target Pests: other

Practices

• Pest Management: biological control, pesticide application timing

• Crop Production: pollination/pollinator health/habitat

• Natural Resources/Environment: wildlife

• Sustainable Communities: urban agriculture

Pollinators are essential to environmental and ecological health, as 87% of flowering plant species and 70% of crops rely on animal-mediated pollination services. Urban environments pose unique risks to pollinators, including habitat loss and fragmentation, and urbanization is only projected to increase in the coming years. Research indicates that pollinators are experiencing declines, but we also know that urban green spaces can function as a refuge for pollinator groups. Moreover, urban green spaces provide important social benefits and fulfillment of socio-cultural needs, but pollination needs are not met in 27% of urban farm systems. This project will create and disseminate educational materials and practical management guidelines through collaboration with New England universities and other partner organizations to maximize native pollinator health and abundance in urban and semi-urban areas throughout New England. This work falls within the NE IPM Center’s Pollinators and Community IPM Signature Programs and contributes to Diversity in IPM by encouraging broader audiences to participate in conservation work in real time. Created and disseminated materials will include educational handouts, informational posts and videos on social media, and free educational newsletters. A direct result of collaboration efforts between all six New England states will be an established communication network related to concurrent pollinator conservation and education efforts, as well as communication regarding educational gaps and future Extension work. Target audiences for this outreach include community groups, urban farmers, home and community gardeners, non-profit organizations, pollinator enthusiasts, and any other groups and individuals managing urban green spaces. The funding of this project would lead to improved access to accurate and timely information on pollinator habitat, pollinator groups, and establish a meaningful communication network for pollinator professionals working in the northeast. 

1. Objective I. Development and distribute educational print materials, including concise, topical fact sheets (“briefs”).
   1. *Anticipated outcomes: This project has an objective to disseminate at least >5,000 print handouts covering different pollinator habitat and conservation topics to a variety of stakeholder groups. This will result in improved understanding of pollinator conservation tactics. A QR code will be included to link to a survey for recipients to report on their attitudes and future behaviors, which will provide data to inform later efforts.
2. Objective II. Develop content for and update UMass Extension Pollinators website (https://ag.umass.edu/resources/pollinators).
   1. *Anticipated outcomes: Improved available resources on our website, including accessible PDFs of print handouts and our free quarterly newsletter. We will track website analytics and email contacts. This will result in improved understanding of pollinator conservation tactics.
3. Objective III. Highlight pollinator species, research, and conservation tactics on social media, primarily Instagram, and including Facebook.
   1. *Anticipated outcomes: Disseminating information on social media will help to reach broader audiences that may or may not be in a current position to directly implement IPM and pollinator conservation practices. This is a rather new effort; therefore it is difficult to anticipate the full range of impacts and audiences.
4. Objective IV. Construct a network of pollinator professionals working in New England and create meaningful conversation about pollinator conservation through the dissemination of communications materials.
   1. *Anticipated outcomes: Enhanced communication efforts related to pollinator health and conservation between all New England states, which we anticipate will lead to more effective pollinator educational operations in all participating states. Moreover, this will also lead to increased knowledge among Extension and other professionals that may or may not work in a pollinator-specific position, but encounter questions and inquiries related to pollinators as a regular part of their role.