The Problem
We would like to increase pollinator habitat through a campaign to address public awareness and conservation efforts. We will encourage plantings for pollinators and will purchase native trees/bushes to assist with this.
Our Plan
The Pretty Big Pollinator Project is an effort by Green Mountain Area Homeschoolers to increase awareness of the importance of pollinators like butterflies, bees, bats, birds, and bugs. Through a series of activities, we hope to engage people in our community and beyond by providing education and resources and encouraging native plantings for better habitat. We have received a tree planting stipend as well and, as advised by local experts, we will be using this to plant native bushes to support pollinators.
Themes Addressed
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Biodiversity Loss
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Habitat Destruction
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Pollinators
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Wildlife
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The Benefit
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People
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Animals
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Environment
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Here is how the project went:
We started planning this project in February with students mapping our community and determining what they wanted to achieve for their project. When they met in early March, they decided to work on increasing pollinator awareness and conservation in our community. A week after that meeting, we had to drastically change our approach due to Covid-19 shutdowns and restrictions. We began meeting online and the students quickly came up with ideas on how they could continue to work towards their goals. Here are a few of the highlights: Bought milkweed seeds to plant for Monarch Butterflies Developed a website - www.TheHappinessHere.com/ThePrettyBigPollinatorProject/ Encouraged student contributions to the blog and had over student blog posts. Established a facebook page - @theprettybigpollinatorproject Set up an instagram page - @theprettybigpollinatorproject Posted regularly on social media to educate public regarding pollinators and encourage participation Created an art display at our local library to promote project goals Held an online art contest, open to all students age 18 and under Over 60 art contest entries received Nearly 40 students and parents participated in the judging process Recruited local businesses to help with prizes for the art contest Had local experts on pollinators and pollinator plantings speak to our group in our online meetings. Students taught pollinator related art (origami, drawing, etc) in online classes Students reported on website and social media stats during our online meetings as well Note: Mini-grant money used for seeds, contest prizes, and art supplies Tree stipend used for native pollinator friendly and drought tolerant bushes for students participating in the project.
Through this project I/we learned:
We learned so much this year! Having to deal with Covid really made our students think of creative ways to achieve their goals. They learned resilience and adaptability while meeting their goals of increasing pollinator awareness and education in our community.
What I/we might change:
So much of this project involved learning and adaptation. The process was difficult at times, but we grew so much that we don’t think we’d change anything… although, of course, we would wish away Covid-19!
My/our favorite part of this project was:
Everyone really enjoyed our online meetings the most when a student led us all in an art project. Having artwork and blogposts shared online was rewarding for the students and fun because we were able to reach so many people beyond our immediate community. We also enjoyed being able to offer such great art contest prizes, using our mini-grant money and donations from local businesses.
Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:
An online presence (website and social media) gave us access to a much wider audience. Also, we had not reached out for community support much before this project. We were amazed by the willingness of businesses to donate generous prizes for our art contest. So, just ask! We love getting together in-person but online meetings can be very convenient, especially when you want a local expert to talk to the group and it’s someone who doesn’t have the time to travel back and forth.
