FEATURE

Pollinator Partnership Projects Support Pollinator Health

Since September 2021, Pollinator Partnership (P2) has collaborated with Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) to launch the Pollinator Friendly Places initiative. Through this program, P2 and TMNA are working together to create, enhance and protect thousands of acres of habitat for pollinators, increase landowner education, increase the implementation of best management practices, provide education and volunteer opportunities to Toyota staff and the public, and ultimately support the health of pollinators across North America.

For each project that P2 supports with funding from Toyota, native plant species are carefully selected to ensure they are well-suited to the local environment. This approach provides a number of benefits, such as increased resilience to difficult growing conditions, lower water requirements, and deep root systems that help keep soil in place.

Choosing native plants also has the benefit of providing a home to native pollinators and other beneficial insects, many of which have developed close associations with native plants. In some cases, a certain plant species or genus will be the only type of plant that is eaten by a species of insect. These plants, known as host plants, are vital parts of pollinator habitat and are featured in the species distributed to plant awardees.

As of the end of fiscal year 2023, P2 has helped enhance 7,599.4 acres across the United State, Canada and Mexico. Check out P2’s map to see where they are working to improve habitat and create a better future for pollinators.

Pollinator Partnership’s Friendly Places Initiative*	P2 is distributing native wildflower seeds to qualified applicants across North America to plant in prairies, meadows, gardens or other habitats that already have flowering vegetation. Recipients of the seeds include private landowners, nonprofits and local, state and federal government agencies.
P2 Partners	Project Summary
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service	Through P2’s work with the Partners for Fish & Wildlife (PFW) program, they supplied seed for seven sites across Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, totaling 149.4 acres. The PFW program is managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service and provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners interested in converting some of their land to habitat.
Pollinator Partnership Canada (P2C)	P2 worked with its sister organization P2C to identify qualified recipients through their Bee City Canada, Project Swallowtail, MeadowMakers, and Pollinator Stewardship Certification programs. Five projects were awarded plant materials across three different provinces. Additionally, the MeadowMakers program in British Columbia provides educational support and planting resources to homeowners who are interested in turning their yards into native habitat.
World Wildlife Fund Mexico	P2 supports WWF’s ongoing reforestation work in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR), located on the border of the central Mexico states of Michoacan and Estado de Mexico. Funding from this program was used to support the production of 40,000 tree seedlings, including 20,000 oyamel firs and 20,000 Mexican pines, which monarchs use for their overwintering habitat. These trees were used to reforest around 100 acres of land. Indigenous people are working at the nurseries and protecting forests from illegal logging.

_{* The P2 partners and projects listed above are funded through TMNA’s grant to P2.}