Public science communication: Sowing success at the grassroots

Engaging the public is key to the future of pollinator conservation. How can we communicate with the public to transmit scientific information and inspire meaningful actions in an era with so many competing priorities and information streams? Pollinator Partnership engages people through multiple avenues and with all sectors, including industry, agriculture, conservation organizations, government, and the public. Core to all engagement is relevancy, science-based information, and calls to action. This talk will focus on two programs that foster significant conservation action at the grassroots level: Pollinator Steward Certification (PSC) and Project Wingspan (PW).

PSC empowers people to create change for pollinators. From gardeners, to farmers, to land mangers, we teach people why they should care about pollinators, provide science informing conservation actions, and grant certification through training, habitat creation, and outreach requirements. Through this program, thousands from the public, government, and industry have been trained and inspired countless others through their roles as pollinator ambassadors.

PW engages people through the lens of the iconic monarch butterfly. The program creates structured volunteer networks whose members are trained to collect native seed that is then cleaned and distributed as seed or plug plants to qualified projects in the areas they were collected. Over six years, PW has worked with the public and partners to created habitat across 9 states and 100,000+ acres enhanced.

It’s time to rethink how we tackle conservation issues; effectively communicating and engaging with the public opens an avenue of vast possibility for the future of conservation.