2025 NAPPC Conference Recap
This year's virtual North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Conference celebrated the program's 25th anniversary.
Keynote Speaker Presentations
Dr. Julie Thorstenson: Native American Fish and Wildlife Society's Collaborative Approach to Environmental Stewardship
Megan Denver: The Role of Beekeeping for Rural Development
Dr. Kristen Lear: Connecting Communities Through Bat Pollinator Corridor Conservation and Agave Restoration
Dr. Juliana Rangel: Nutritional Ecology of Honey Bees in a Changing Landscape
Dr. Hollis Woodard: Native Bee Monitoring Network
Task Forces
Going forward, the 10 active NAPPC Task Forces will continue to meet and work throughout the year on projects to help improve pollinator health throughout North America. To see a list of the Task Forces and the projects they are working on, click on the button below.
Task Forces2025 NAPPC Award Winners
On October 22, 2024 this year’s award winners from the United States, Canada, and Mexico were honored by Pollinator Partnership and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) during the NAPPC Conference Award Ceremony hosted at National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC. The NAPPC Community is proud to honor these exceptional businesses, individuals, and initiatives that have found creative and inspirational methods of advancing pollinator conservation in their own capacities.
2025 NAPPC Pollinator Advocate (United States) – Hives for Heroes
Based in Houston, Texas, Hives for Heroes is a national nonprofit dedicated to pollinator conservation and purpose-driven healing for Veterans and First Responders. Founded in 2018 by a U.S. Marine who found recovery through beekeeping, the organization has grown to include 9,900 members across all 50 states and 3,400 cities. Its mentorship-based model pairs Veterans and First Responders, known as “NewBEES,” with experienced beekeepers to restore ecosystems and foster connection. Through hands-on learning and community support, Hives for Heroes promotes ecosystem health and personal healing, proving that tending bees can also nurture people.
2025 NAPPC Pollinator Advocate (Mexico) – Ma. Estela Romero Vazquez
A third-generation resident of Angangueo, Michoacán, Estela Romero has spent the last two decades fostering monarch butterfly conservation through education. Living adjacent to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, she documents monarch overwintering activity for Journey North, sharing updates with more than 32,000 subscribers. Romero leads the Symbolic Migration project, connecting classrooms across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico through paper butterflies exchanged as symbols of conservation and friendship. Her work bridges cultural and ecological understanding, inspiring students to protect monarchs and their forests across generations.
2025 NAPPC Pollinator Advocate (Canada) – Ancient Mariners Canoe Club
The Ancient Mariners Canoe Club (AMCC) of Cambridge, Ontario, has transformed its commitment to the Grand River into pollinator action. In 2009, the group founded the Cambridge Pollinator Preserve (CPP) on an abandoned dog run along the river to promote native pollinator health. Volunteers have since planted diverse, native flora that provides year-round forage for pollinators. The Preserve now includes an Education Centre and serves as a model for other community-led pollinator projects. Through steady collaboration with city staff, AMCC has created a thriving urban refuge for pollinators and people alike.
2025 NAPPC Farmer and Rancher Award (United States) – Wild Everlasting Farm
In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Fonta “Flora” Molyneaux, co-owner of Wild Everlasting Farm, integrates pollinator stewardship into every aspect of her 30-acre organic farm. Through this practice, Flora tends 30 hives, produces more than 1,000 pounds of honey from the abundant gardens her husband manages for forage, food, and medicine. Wild Everlasting is an Oregon Bee Project Flagship Farm for conservation and preservation of native bee health and habitat and is home to the Sun Queen School of Apiary Arts, where Flora teaches bioregional beekeeping. Through education, community outreach, and regenerative practices, Wild Everlasting Farm exemplifies the harmony between people, plants, and pollinators.
2025 NAPPC Farmer and Rancher Award (Mexico) – Grupo de Productores La Esperanza
The Grupo de Productores La Esperanza, composed of 27 farmers and ranchers from 11 rural communities in San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas, works to sustain pollinators in the arid Chihuahuan Desert. In collaboration with National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP) and Bat Conservation International, the group has restored and managed habitat for the endangered Mexican long-nosed bat and other native pollinators. They have planted more than 144,000 native agaves and nopales since 2019, creating nectar corridors and “living fences” that prevent erosion while providing essential forage. Their efforts blend sustainable agriculture, community empowerment, and biodiversity conservation in one of Mexico’s most vital ecosystems.
2025 NAPPC Farmer and Rancher Award (Canada) sponsored by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture – Saunders Family Farm and Vineyard
The Saunders Family Farm and Vineyard is a regenerative, Canadian Organic Standards–certified operation committed to fostering pollinator health. Through cover cropping, buffer strips, organic inputs, and reduced tillage, the Saunders family nurtures a resilient agroecosystem that supports pollinators year-round. Their recognition by NAPPC affirms their leadership in sustainable farming and their dedication to harmonizing production with nature’s needs.
2025 NAPPC Electric Power Award sponsored by EPRI – Sustainable Land Management at Pine Hill Preserve
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District [SMUD]: Sustainable Land Management at Pine Hill Preserve managed vegetation along 11,000-plus miles of power lines in a 900-square-mile area that serves 1.5 million customers and community members residing mostly in Sacramento County. This project employs Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) practices to manage vegetation and support wildlife populations by creating habitat corridors, maintaining early successional plant landscapes, and increasing biodiversity of flora and fauna. The goal at Pine Hill Preserve is to conserve rare plant populations and protect human life and property by reducing wildfire risk through the use of IVM practices that are recommended by the Bureau of Land Management. With monitoring equipment provided by the Electric Power Research Institute, SMUD is now conducting pilot wildlife surveys to document what types of wildlife utilize this site to identify the best ways to expand pollinator habitat in the future.
2025 NAPPC Pollinator Roadside Award – BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit
The BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) has implemented innovative roadside vegetation management practices that support pollinator health while maintaining motorist safety and environmental stewardship. They incorporate native flowering species into low-growing, persistent seed mixes that create pollinator habitat along provincial highways. Across the province, MOTT is conducting trials that integrate native plants into roadside seed mixes and apply reduced mowing practices to preserve forage and nesting sites. Looking ahead, MOTT envisions a province-wide pollinator conservation strategy, including a proposed “Bee-Friendly Highway” designation for Highway 99. This initiative would establish a formal framework to guide sustainable roadside practices, enhance biodiversity, and engage local communities in pollinator conservation.
