Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Pollinators are a key part of many different types of ecosystems, however, there has been a major
decline in their population. The causes for the decline are the loss of habitat, use of pesticides as
well as people not planting plants that cater to them. Pollinators are essential to all aspects of
human life. With this being said there are ways individuals can help to increase the populations
of pollinators in their own communities. A person can use small parts of their property to plant
native plants and increase the number of pollinators in their yard within a year.
The project started by picking an area that got a decent amount of sunlight and measuring a plot
the size of 1,000 square feet (sqft). The space was sprayed, existing grasses burned, raked, and
then the seeds were broadcast. An electric fence was put up to make it so wildlife could not
disturb the plot while it was being established. When plants started to grow the plot was
observed weekly to see if pollinators were beginning to show up. The area outside of the plot
was used as the control group.
When the year had passed the number of pollinators in the area where the plot had been placed
had significantly risen unlike before when very few pollinators were in the area