Inspiring Local Libraries to Protect Native Pollinators

In May and June, the challenges in Seek by iNaturalist celebrate a new film, My Garden of a Thousand Bees, thanks to support from HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, a mission-driven film studio dedicated to sharing powerful stories about science and scientists. We’ve invited them to share how they have incorporated iNaturalist and Seek into the film’s outreach and impact campaign.

When the global pandemic hit, acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn, locked down in his small city garden in Bristol, England, decided to turn his cameras on the wildlife in his backyard. He was particularly fascinated with the bees visiting his garden. Putting his cameras and unparalleled skills to use, he filmed more than 60 different species, from giant bumblebees to scissor bees the size of mosquitos.

The result, My Garden of a Thousand Bees, is a film that will change the way you look at bees and inspire a new appreciation for these spectacular pollinators. But the story doesn’t stop there. The film’s impact campaign has germinated a vast network of public engagement events with one simple mission: to get audiences to appreciate their local pollinators and take small, easy steps to make their lives a little bit easier.

As part of the campaign, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and PBS Nature joined the One Square Foot initiative to encourage the planting of native wildflowers that support bees and other pollinators, and together launched the #PlantWildflowers national campaign. The initiative engaged more than 300 public libraries with twin goals of educating their visitors about the important role native bees and other pollinators play, and encouraging the creation of pollinator habitats in their communities. As part of this endeavor, libraries signed up to conduct bioblitzes using iNaturalist, with the goal of emphasizing the importance of observing and understanding local wildlife. Libraries will also utilize the May and June Seek app challenges to quickly and easily identify native species of bees, butterflies, and flowering plants.

The campaign also enlisted the talents of expert science communicator and USDA entomologist Dr. Samuel Ramsey, creating short bee-related videos that are available as outreach tools at library events and on social media.

Along with the videos, a suite of free resources was created to help partners host pollinator-related events. Materials include NGSS-aligned educational and activity guides from WWF Wild Classroom, a Bioblitz “How To” guide, regional bee ID cards and more — all available at PlantWildflowers.org.

At the core of the campaign is a simple message: it doesn’t take much to help your local pollinators. Planting native wildflowers is something everyone can do, whether on a windowsill in a city, in a community garden or on a rural farm. When using iNaturalist or Seek, or just simply observing nature on your own, remember that planting even one square foot of wildflowers — your one square foot — can make a difference and provide much needed habitat for bees and other pollinators.

So how can you get involved? This spring and summer, the #PlantWildflowers campaign is working with leading science education and conservation organizations, PBS stations, and libraries across the country to host planting events, BioBlitz activities, film screenings and more. Visit PlantWildflowers.org for updates on events in your region, or create one of your own using the #PlantWildflowers toolkit.

And if you’re curious about the story that began it all, watch My Garden of a Thousand Bees on May 4th on PBS Nature, or streaming for free now on PBS.org.

-By Jared Lipworth, Executive Producer & Head of Outreach and Impact at HHMI Tangled Bank Studios

Posted on May 3, 2022 08:02 PM by carrieseltzer