Serving as essential components of environmental resiliency nationwide, local parks empower communities to support pollinators
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) in partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, are proud to announce the sixth annual Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz beginning today, September 1, 2024. This event celebrates pollinators and raises awareness and community involvement across the country in an effort to mitigate the pollinator crisis.
At a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz, participants are encouraged to capture photographs of the plants, insects, and animals present in parks and submit them using the iNaturalist platform, an app which identifies and records the observations. This helps park agencies better understand, manage, and plan for the multitude of different species and habitats in their local parks.
In 2023, more than 80 organizations participated in the project, from zoos to museums, local parks departments to county and state parks departments. Projects were held in 26 states across the country from Alaska to Florida. The number of different organizations invested in parks and ensuring biodiversity in their communities demonstrates how essential parks and their support of pollinators are to communities from coast to coast. 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.
“We love our pollinators and know the critical role that they play in our ecosystems in supporting healthy, climate-resilient communities,” said Ayanna Williams, NRPA director of community and environmental resilience. “NRPA is thrilled to partner with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation on the Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz campaign to help engage communities in pollinator protection and to connect them to the vast network of local parks and pollinator resources. Park and recreation professionals are the perfect messengers to convey the importance of pollinators and do an exceptional job educating and supporting their communities. We are grateful for their work!”
“It is essential to make sure people continue to be aware of the importance of pollinators and show individuals how they can protect them,” said Brian Herrington, president of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation. “We love to see all of the parks throughout the country that participate in the annual Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz campaign, and the people who directly impact pollinators in a positive way.”
The protection of pollinators and other insects is vital to sustaining healthy communities and biodiversity. These species are essential for healthy plant communities — ensuring plants can reproduce and continue to flourish. Pollinators are responsible for helping in the reproduction of 90 percent of the world’s flowering plants and support $50 billion worth of crops every year in our country. They are key to sustaining our ecosystems and support biodiversity, which provides food and habitat for people, other species and many other environmental benefits to our communities.
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, as part of ScottsMiracle-Gro’s GroMoreGood initiative, 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, visit nrpa.org/parks4pollinators.
To learn more about the GroMoreGood initiative, visit GroMoreGood.org.
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About the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. With more than 60,000 members, NRPA advances this mission by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals and advocates — the catalysts for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being. For more information, visit nrpa.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit parksandrecreation.org.
About The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation
The mission of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation is to inspire, connect and cultivate a community of purpose. The Foundation is deeply rooted in helping create healthier communities, empower the next generation, and preserve our planet. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that funds non-profit entities that support its core initiatives in the form of grants, endowments and multi-year capital gifts. For more information, visitwww.scottsmiraclegrofoundation.org.