Scotts Bees Pollinator Project Inc

Background Statement

WHY THIS MATTERS

The vital connection between pollinators and every other living entity on Earth cannot be overstated. Most if not all pollinators are in decline. This is a worldwide problem as well as your own back yard problem. This includes native species such as Monarch Butterflies and Western Bumble Bees (and many others) as well as our managed Honeybees. It is an event that is happening now. Beekeepers see this closely as the honeybees in our care reflect what is happening in the natural world.

Right now, we’re facing a pollinator crisis:

• Last winter, 67% of the managed honeybee colonies in the US died!

• Pollinators are responsible for one out of three bites of food we eat

• They contribute over $24 billion dollars annually to our economy

• Without them, we lose 75% of the world's flowering plants

But there is an even greater problem: most people have no idea this is happening. Less than 2% of our workforce works in agriculture today! Compare that to 40% in 1900. We’re three generations removed from the land. Our children grow up believing food comes from the grocery, not from the hard work of bees visiting flower after flower. We’ve lost our connection to the natural systems that our life on earth depends upon.

This disconnect isn’t just sad—It’s dangerous. When people do not understand the role of pollinators in nature, we unknowingly make choices that harm pollinators and therefore ourselves, as we rely upon them for our very existence.

OUR SOLUTION: EDUCATION + ACTION

We believe the best way to promote pollinator health is to help people fall in love with them. When people see the bees collecting nectar and pollen while getting their hands dirty in the garden, or tasting honey directly from the hive, magic is made. They suddenly see that nature isn’t something “out there”—it is intertwined with our very existence and therefore essential to all life itself.