What is the Pollinator Project?
We've published a paper on our California native and non-native ornamental comparison experiment in Environmental Entomology!
View full paper here: "California Native Perennials Attract Greater Native Pollinator Abundance and Diversity Than Nonnative, Commercially Available Ornamentals in Southern California"
Nationwide Research Collaboration
Since 2016, UCCE San Diego has collaborated with eight other universities and institutions nationwide to study the effect that pesticide residue from ornamental horticulture production has on pollinators. This multi-disciplinary, nationwide study administered by the IR-4 Project will ultimately help shape guidelines on what pesticides are applied, and when, in the ornamental-plant industry, to reduce negative outcomes among pollinators.
STEM Opportunity for Students
The Pollinator Project offers students hands-on paid field experience in identifying insects, collecting and managing data, and other STEM skills. UCCE researchers also helped develop a pollinator training workshop at Cabrillo National Monument to teach San Diego community college students how to accurate survey bees as part of a long-term ecological monitoring project.