Entitled, ‘Protecting Bees & Pollinators: What Horticulture Needs to Know’, the video narrates the current state of bee and pollinator health, provides information on factors that impact pollinators and the environment including the use of pesticides, and underscores the beneficial role horticulture plays in providing healthy and nurturing pollinator ecosystems.

It also serves as a resource to industry professionals and horticulture enthusiasts by providing an overview of all the factors affecting bee and pollinator health today.

“Very few businesses can be more beneficial to bees and pollinators in this country than horticulture,” states John Coulter, President of the Horticultural Research Institute. “Our passion is to grow healthy plants and flowers. Our products offer the very thing pollinators need to thrive: diverse and ample sources of forage.”

“We know that horticulture provides essential food sources for pollinator populations. And we also know that some consumers are concerned about pesticide use,” adds Michael V. Geary, President & CEO of AmericanHort, the horticultural industry’s association. “To help us answer the tough questions posed by gardeners and consumers, we’ve gathered top minds in conservation, research, and pest management to educate and inform us on this issue. We are also funding and leveraging research on best practices for our members.”

Featured on the video are experts in the fields of conservation, pollinator research, and integrated pest management, including:

• Vicki Wojcik, Ph.D., Research Director, Pollinator Partnership, who oversees pollinator research for the independent organisation committed to the protection of native pollinators vital to ecosystems and agriculture. Augmenting pollinator habitat and forage is a driving goal for Dr. Wojcik and the Pollinator Partnership;
• Richard Cowles, Ph.D., Entomologist, Connecticut Valley Laboratory, a leading entomologist and researcher with more than 25 years of expertise in the areas of biology, integrated pest management, and pest research. Using plants commonly found in the landscape, he is researching systemic insecticide uptake and potential pollinator interactions with nectar and pollen. In turn, this knowledge is expected to further the establishment of best management guidelines for growing plants and protecting pollinators;
• Andrew Bishop, Ph.D., Managing Director, Green Leaf Plants, an international recognised expert in all facets of greenhouse plant production and pest management. He currently is a Managing Director for Green Leaf Plants in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; providing starter plants to growers in ornamental horticulture, serving global markets from facilities in the U.S. and British Columbia;
• Zac Browning, owner, Browning’s Honey Co., Inc, a 4th generation commercial beekeeper and honey producer operating over 20,000 hives for honey production and pollination in multiple states. He has served the beekeeping industry in many ways including as Trustee for the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, board member of the National Pollinator Defense Fund, and is a past president of the American Beekeeping Federation.

The video was produced as part of the horticultural industry’s Bee & Pollinator Stewardship Initiative.

To watch the video, go to: americanhort.org/AmericanHort/Membership/Private/protect_bees.aspx