The first day of September marked the beginning of the National Recreation and Park Association’s (NRPA’s) seventh annual Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz, celebrating pollinators and raising awareness and community involvement across the country to help mitigate the pollinator crisis.
Pollinators and other beneficial insects are essential to ecological health, community resilience and the preservation of biodiversity. They play a critical role in plant reproduction, enabling nearly 90% of the world’s flowering plants to thrive. In the U.S. alone, pollinators support $50 billion in agricultural production each year. By sustaining healthy plant communities, they provide food, habitat and countless environmental benefits that support people, wildlife and the natural systems we all depend on.
“Pollinators are vital to life—more than 75% of flowering plants and 35% of crops depend on them,” said Ayanna Williams, NRPA director of community and environmental resilience. “Through our Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, we’re helping communities take action to protect these essential species. Park and recreation professionals are trusted leaders who connect people to nature and play a powerful role in advancing pollinator conservation. We’re grateful for their continued dedication.”
Participants in a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz are encouraged to photograph the plants, insects and animals they find in parks and submit them using the iNaturalist platform, an app that identifies and records the observations. This can help park agencies understand, manage and plan for the many different species and habitats that can be found locally.
In 2024, more than 80 organizations participated in the project, including zoos, museums, and local, county and state parks departments. More than 200 individuals pledged to help pollinators and learn how to host a BioBlitz. Events were organized from coast to coast, and almost 45,000 observations were recorded, documenting thousands of species of both pollinators and pollinator-supporting plants. Nearly 5,000 people participated in the national BioBlitz to record these findings using iNaturalist. These events bolstered local environmental education, increased awareness of pollinators and the role local parks play in their health, and helped parks and communities improve local pollinator habitats.
NRPA and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation began their partnership in 2018 with the creation of the Parks for Pollinators campaign to raise public awareness of pollinator health and encourage local action through public parks and pollinator gardens. Together, they are working to educate more children, families and communities about the importance of pollinators and what people can do to help.
To learn more about Parks for Pollinators, find resources or find a local event, visitwwwnrpa.org/parks4pollinators.