Operation Pollination Helping to Improve Habitats and Landscapes Throughout the National Heritage Areas

Native species pollinator habitat.

Operation Pollination

Did you know that more than a dozen National Heritage Areas across the country are part of Operation Pollination, in an effort to help increase pollinator habitat and ensure their survival? Pollinators like bees, butterflies, and bats help plants carry out reproduction by spreading pollen from plant to plant. Since 1985, the populations of a wide variety of pollinators have declined by more than 45%.

Kelly House Museum Native Pollinator Garden

Blackstone Valley NHC

Natural resource conservation, environmental stewardship, and education are all key components of the National Heritage Area (NHA) Program, and therefore Operation Pollination is a natural fit with a heritage area’s objectives. Operation Pollination was first adopted by three NHAs in the Midwest in 2018. Every year since it has extended its reach with new NHA partnerships, even in this past year, despite the pandemic. Thirty-five NHAs have expressed interest in the project, with more than a dozen signing Pollinator Resolutions and recruiting partners to sign pledges.

Wherever you live, pollinators—responsible for the growth of one in three bites of food you eat—are an essential part of foodways, sustainability, and a healthy planet. This year Operation Pollination partnered with a major volunteer service organization, Rotary International, which adopted the initiative as part of their Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). This new partnership has led to an exciting collaboration between ESRAG and the National Heritage Areas. This team approach has increased volunteer impact in support of pollinator habitat restoration in many places around the country. Land restoration can also aid with reducing our carbon footprint and improving air and water quality, so the benefits are tremendous.

Up-close with an essential member of native species pollinator gardens...the bee!

NPS Photo

In April 2021, Rotary District 5970 in Iowa, whose region overlaps with Silos & Smokestacks NHA, signed Operation Pollination’s Pollinator Resolution. The document requires actionable steps to support pollinators in the region, such as planting and maintaining native pollinator gardens. This was the first Rotary Pollinator Resolution to include an NHA—and new “firsts” continued this May when Freedom’s Frontier NHA and Rotary District 5170 in Kansas became the first to issue a joint Pollinator Resolution.

Through the efforts of Operation Pollination, NHAs are now a part of pollinator garden creation and the development of Pollinator Resolutions. At Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, for instance, you can visit the Kelly House Museum Native Pollinator Garden at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. At Appalachian Forest NHA, pollinator habitat restoration is being undertaken through AmeriCorps service projects. Later this month, the National Park Service and National Heritage Areas will also be celebrating National Pollinator Week from June 21-27, 2021. To learn more in the meantime about the Operation Pollination initiative and the Three Easy Steps you can take to support pollinators, you can visit operationpollination.net.

The Kelly House Museum Native Pollinator Garden in Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. NPS Park Ranger Tyler Shepard of Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park designed the garden, while Rhode Island Wild Plant Society Native donated and planted native species.

Blackstone River Valley NHC