Guest Blogger: Andre Copeland of the Chicago Zoological Society
The Chicago Zoological Society’s Communities and Nature Program
Helping Pollinators, Helping People
We depend on pollinators. Honeybees and other pollinators are responsible for a third of our diet. That’s one of every three bites of our food! But pollinator populations are dropping due to habitat loss (the use of glyphosate-based herbicides is the suspected cause) and contamination of their food (neonicotinoid pesticides have been implicated). Taking practical steps to address the problems facing pollinators is in the best interest of future generations.
Pollinators depend on us. Planting vegetable gardens, native wildflowers, and milkweed, and using pesticide-free and herbicide-free gardening techniques is healthy for pollinators. Follow CZS.org/Pollinators for a list of beautiful, native plants that are friendly to pollinators.
How does a person, organization, or community take the next step? The Chicago Zoological Society’s (CZS) Communities and Nature Program can help. The program’s goals are to help people realize their connections to nature and to help them understand how to take conservation action while achieving their personal and/or community goals utilizing their available assets.
One great example is our partnership with Cantata Senior Living Community and Best Life Services.
My name is André, and I manage the Society’s Communities and Nature Program. As I was looking at ways to inspire people to help pollinators, a Cantata staff member, Marti, was looking for a way to enrich the lives of Cantata’s residents by providing them with access to an underutilized area of their campus.
After Marti and I discussed our goals, an exceptional community collaboration began. Working together, CZS and Cantata created a beautiful, fully accessible, pollinator-friendly Best Life Garden.
We worked together to develop messaging that connects pollinators to the four main components of Cantata’s Best Life View: Purpose, Vitality, Outlook and Balance. Cantata chose hummingbirds as their Best Life View symbol because these birds embody their values and to help reinforce our close connections to pollinators.
During the project, Cantata team members learned that CZS needed housing for some of their international interns, and Cantata needed to fill a number of empty residential units. This is a prime example of how two organizations work together, leveraging their resources to make a better world for people, wildlife, and nature.
-Andre Copeland
Interpretive Program Manager and Communities and Nature Program Manager
Chicago Zoological Society
- Marti: Former Acitivites Director for Cantata
- Amelia: Senior Editor/Writer for CZS
- Jamie: Community Outreach Specialist for Cantata
- Lisa: Senior Designer for CZS
Mr. Copeland’s contributed post is part of an ongoing series this summer as part of PGAV Destination’s 2016-2017 PGAVIA Conservation Awareness Campaign, supporting pollinators and the restoration of their habitats.
