Free educational toolkit helps celebrate Pollinator Week

Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) launched a free educational toolkit to celebrate Pollinator Week. The toolkit featured downloadable graphics and actionable tips to raise awareness and assist with supporting pollinator populations.

Pollinator Week, an annual celebration in support of pollinator health initiated and managed by Pollinator Partnership, was held June 16-22.

A toolkit focused specifically on pollinators is a first for EFI, adding to its library of materials designed to support safer, healthier and more sustainable food systems. The toolkit highlights not only honeybees and butterflies but also lesser-known pollinators including bats, beetles, birds, moths and flies.

One in every three bites of food consumed requires pollinators, but their populations are declining at alarming rates due to pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change, according to a news release.

According to the USDA, more than $18 billion worth of crops, including apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, melons and almonds, depend on pollinators in the U.S. alone. Pollinator conservation closely aligns with EFI’s mission to foster a more sustainable and transparent food supply chain by addressing environmental, labor and consumer needs in harmony, according to the release.

Pollinators are vital to food production and the health of farming ecosystems, Alexandra Martinez, EFI’s senior digital marketing and sales associate, said in the release.

“We can’t protect what we don’t understand,” Martinez said. “This toolkit is designed to raise awareness and make it easier for our partners and the broader industry to take meaningful steps to protect pollinator habitats in practical ways.”

The toolkit invites users to explore and take action through colorful graphics. Highlights include:

● Shareable visuals and infographics

● A “Did You Know?” series

● Templates for social media and email campaigns

● Practical steps to protect pollinators on farms and in neighborhoods

“Our goal is to make participation in Pollinator Week simple, impactful and accessible,” Martinez said. “As pollinator populations face growing challenges, EFI is proud to contribute tools and awareness that encourage improvement and industry engagement.”

EFI also offers recorded workshops and online courses on topics including biodiversity, integrated pest management and eco-friendly farm management practices.