The Pollinator Partnership or P2 is a 501(c)(3)

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

with its headquarters in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California that works to protect the health of managed and native

pollinating Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

animals that are vital to

wildland Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

and agricultural

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s. The Pollinator Partnership’s mission of environmental stewardship and

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

protection is achieved through

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

, policy, education, and research. Signature initiatives include the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign), National Pollinator Week, and EcoRegional Planting Guides that allow local citizens to plant gardens that provide habitats for important pollinating species.

Background and history

The Pollinator Partnership was founded as the Coevolution Institute (CoE) in 1997. The early mission of the organization was to promote

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

, and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

relating to pollinating species and their floral associations. Since 1997 P2 has grown to be a leader in pollinator conservation. Using a multifaceted approach of targeting stakeholders ranging from

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s, growers, policy makers,

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, education, and the general public they have been able to launch parallel projects that work towards a common goal – protecting and promoting pollinator populations.

Partnerships and collaboration

P2 has partnerships with many institutions, organizations, corporations, and individuals. They have worked closely with the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is an American foundation that was chartered by Congress in 1984 to increase the resources available for the conservation of the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Authority The Natio ...

to develop the EcoRegional Planting Guides. P2's conservation concern is relevant to a subset of the invertebrate species promoted by the

Xerces Society The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Xerces Society) is a non-profit environmental organization that focuses on the conservation of invertebrates considered to be essential to biological diversity and ecosystem health. It is named ...

. Corporate partnerships with

Burt's Bees Burt's Bees is an American multinational, personal care product company. The company is a subsidiary of Clorox that describes itself as an " Earth-friendly, Natural Personal Care Company" making products for personal care, health, beauty and per ...

and

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, Ne ...

have helped them promote and preserve honey bee populations within the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

through their respective “Honey Bee Health” and “HD Loves Honey Bees” campaigns. P2 has also partnered with food producers and retailers such as

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

, World Foods, Wyman's of Maine, and The Great Northern Roasting Company.

Scientific advisory panel

The conservation work of the Pollinator Partnership is backed by scientific evidence on

pollinator decline Pollinator decline is the reduction in abundance of insect and other animal pollinators in many ecosystems worldwide that began being recorded at the end of the 20th century. Multiple lines of evidence exist for the reduction of wild pollinator ...

. Steve Buchmann, Ph.D., co-author of The Forgotten Pollinators,The Forgotten Pollinators, http://www.ecobooks.com/books/pollinat.htm serves as P2's staff scientist. The P2 scientific advisory board includes entomologist E.O. Wilson, evolutionary ecologist

Daniel Janzen Daniel Hunt Janzen (born January 18, 1939 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American evolutionary ecologist, and conservationist. He divides his time between his professorship in biology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is the DiMaura ...

, Ph.D.; entomologist

May Berenbaum May Roberta Berenbaum (born July 22, 1953) is an American entomologist whose research focuses on the chemical interactions between herbivorous insects and their host plants, and the implications of these interactions on the organization of natura ...

, Ph.D.; botanist

Peter Raven Peter Hamilton Raven (born June 13, 1936) is an American botanist and environmentalist, notable as the longtime director, now President Emeritus, of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Early life On June 13, 1936, Raven was born in Shanghai, China ...

, conservation biologist and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology

Paul R. Ehrlich Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist known for his warnings about the consequences of population growth and limited resources. He is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of St ...

, Ph.D.; chemical ecologist

Thomas Eisner Thomas Eisner (June 25, 1929 – March 25, 2011) was a German-American entomologist and ecologist, known as the "father of chemical ecology." He was a Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University, and Director of the ...

, Ph.D.; biologist Don Kennedy, Ph.D.; and scientist and natural history writer Adrian Forsyth, Ph.D.

References

External links

{{Pollination management Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco Pollination management