Bees are responsible for one third of every bite of food we eat. Rotary clubs across six continents are planting, educating, advocating and building habitat to reverse pollinator decline. This is their story, and our call to action.
Jennifer E. Jones was the first woman to serve as President of Rotary International, and she used her platform to champion the protection of bees and pollinators.
Milestones during her term, in order.
Clubs on every inhabited continent run active bee and pollinator projects.
Founded after a David Attenborough documentary on bee decline, now in its fifth year and expanding into New South Wales and the ACT, with pollinator gardens, pesticide free zones and school programs.
A district of 62 clubs and over 3,000 members planting wildflowers and milkweed, restoring habitat, establishing colonies and teaching young people.
Clubs signed the Pollinator Partner Pledge and run seed packet and native plant giveaways, school gardens and pollinator safe zones with city governments.
Donated wine barrels become pollinator planters at local storefronts, which businesses host for $150 a year. Dozens placed, and nearby towns have followed.
Fourteen district leaders committed their districts to pollinator protection, with Past RI President Jennifer Jones taking part.
Pollinator gardens across the city and designated pollinator corridors with the parks department.
All 20 districts distributed seed packets to over 200,000 homes and planted public gardens with city halls.
With the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, clubs install bee hotels and train Rotarians to document urban bee species.
Recognized by Rotary International in April 2020, with hundreds of members from backyard beekeepers to biodiversity advocates.
Annual honey festivals, pesticide free zones with local councils and a speaker bureau of beekeeping experts.
Sustainable beekeeping as a livelihood. Pollination management in Ghana has been shown to raise mango yields by 35%.
Better pollination management raised mustard seed production by 25% in Nepal. Clubs in Nepal, India and Pakistan teach farmers low cost habitat and native planting.
A ready made Resolution and Pollinator Partner Pledge any club can adopt, with planting days, school visits and annual renewal.
Community apiaries open to schools and the public, with talks for audiences from primary pupils to care home residents.
A Rotarians for Bees campaign inviting everyone to grow something for pollinators, from a window box of herbs to a kitchen garden.
Workshop kits with presentations, activity guides, seed packets and native bee habitat instructions for any club.
Where clubs are active: Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Belgium, India, Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nepal, Pakistan, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands and 25 more countries.
Plant lists, research, monitoring and citizen science from organizations that know bees best.
Free regional pollinator plant lists, habitat guides and research.
xerces.orgClassroom curricula, urban beekeeping and planting guides.
planetbee.orgResearch backed guides on native bees and gardening for pollinators.
extension.psu.eduGlobal bee population monitoring across six continents.
worldbeeproject.orgFree Ecoregional Planting Guides by zip code.
pollinator.orgScience on colony collapse, varroa mites and pesticide effects.
ars.usda.govBee health, hive registration and disease alerts.
nationalbeeunit.comPhotograph and report bee sightings for scientists.
inaturalist.orgUniversity of Illinois citizen science on bumblebees.
beespotter.orgAlso worth your time: the documentary The Pollinators (2019) and The Beekeeper’s Bible.
A single giveaway can distribute hundreds of native plants to dozens of neighborhoods in one morning. Partner with local nurseries for donated or discounted stock, work with your parks department on sites, and teach proper planting and why these plants matter.
Seed packet campaigns, inspired by the France and Belgium model that reached 200,000 homes, are low cost and high impact. Local businesses can sponsor packets with a QR code to planting instructions, handed out through schools, libraries, grocery stores and events.
Bee favorites to give away:
A windowsill, a balcony or a backyard can change everything, and every size business can make a difference.
Eight things anyone can start this week.
A Rotary community resource. Content is educational. Rotary trademarks and names belong to Rotary International. Bee statistics from FAO, Xerces Society and IPBES research.
Send us your project and we will add it to the map of Rotary bee projects.