The Pollinator Posse is the newest addition to the Monarch Joint Venture partnership! The Pollinator Posse creates pollinator-friendly landscaping and fosters appreciation of local ecosystems through outreach, education and direct action in northern California. They engage with municipalities, land owners, golf courses, garden groups, and the general public to help people become better stewards of their local ecosystems. With eco-friendly landscape techniques at the heart of their work, they teach respect for the creatures which keep communities blooming. The Pollinator Posse envisions a day when life-enhancing, thought-inspiring green spaces will grace every corner of our world.
Much of the Pollinator Posse’s work is focused on creating pollinator habitat in their local community. They have helped create pollinator-friendly gardens at a children’s theme park, a fire station, a veterans memorial building, and multiple public parks. Their popular “Bee Hotel” located in the Gardens at Lake Merritt “opened” on Earth Day 2013. Made from wood, native bees dwell in the holes bored into the Hotel’s blocks, which offer the insects shelter to nest and lay their eggs. Their work prompted Oakland’s Mayor, Libby Schaaf to sign the Mayors Monarch Pledge and declare May 22, 2021 Pollinator Posse Day.
In addition to their habitat work, Pollinator Posse contributes to pollinator education and advocacy. Through the Bay Friendly Garden Training they help professional landscapers incorporate pollinator-friendly habitat and landscape practices into their designs. They speak frequently at events and also offer field trips and classroom visits for educators from preschool through college level. In 2020, the Pollinator Posse became active members of the Western Monarch Advocates group and continues to collect data and provide information about monarch behavior and conservation activities in their region.
To learn more about the Pollinator Posse and their work, please visit https://pollinatorposse.org/
The Monarch Joint Venture is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and a national partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses and academic programs working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Header photo courtesy of Pollinator Posse.