A new group in Vermont is hoping to build on the state's efforts to protect bees and other pollinators.
The Vermont Pollinator Working Group will work on two projects — helping farmers identify five key pollinators and launching a research campaign centered around pesticide exposure.
Samantha Alger, a research assistant professor at the University of Vermont and affiliate with the Gund Institute for the Environment and one of the leaders of the group, says they are hoping that by bringing together many aspects of pollinator conservatism, they can strengthen the message around the importance of pollinators.
"We’ve got a lot of different groups working on pollinator conservation efforts and research efforts, and also pesticide advocacy work is happening as well, and so it feels like this project is gonna try and bring together these different communities and different people, which is great," she said. "And it will hopefully strengthen the message that pollinators are important and we need to start making efforts, serious efforts to help protect them.”
Vermont has more than 350 species of bees.
This group is the eighth to receive an award from the Apis Fund, which helps its recipients in bee and pollinator related projects and research.
This story is a collaboration between Vermont Public and the Community News Service. The Community News Service is a student-powered partnership between the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program and community newspapers across Vermont.
