Why Care About Pollinators?

Pollination — the transfer of pollen grains to fertilize the seed-producing ovaries of flowers — is an essential part of a healthy ecosystem.  And pollinators play a significant role in the production of over 150 food crops in the United States.In this introductory curriculum educators have purposely chosen to focus on just two of the many pollinators as a means for teaching basic concepts about the process and importance of pollination.

Bees were chosen due to their primary importance among pollinators and butterflies were chosen because of the interesting and distinctive stages of their life cycle and their intrinsic appeal.

Find out more about butterflies, bees and other pollinators through activities designed to provide a systematic exploration of the topic using  scientific thinking processes at the Pollinator Partnership’s website.  This SERIES curriculum was funded through a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Nature’s Partners curriculum contained here is designed to be a highly adaptive and flexible resource for teachers and youth leaders.   Here’s a link to one of the learning modules if you’re ready to buzz and flutter into the world of pollinators.