Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz Campaign Continues to Advance Pollinator Protection With Support From NRPA and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation

Serving as essential components of environmental resiliency nationwide, local parks empower communities to support pollinators

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), in partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, is proud to announce the seventh annual Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz beginning September 1, 2025. This event celebrates pollinators and raises awareness and community involvement across the country to mitigate the pollinator crisis.

At a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz, participants are encouraged to capture photographs of the plants, insects, and animals present in parks and submit them using theiNaturalist platform, an app that identifies and records the observations. This helps park agencies better understand, manage and plan for the multitude of different species and habitats in their local parks.

In 2024, more than 80 organizations participated in the project, from zoos to museums, local parks departments to county and state parks departments. More than 200 individuals pledged to help pollinators and learn how to host a BioBlitz. Events were organized from coast to coast, with 35 states, from Arizona to New York. These groups recorded almost 45,000 observations, documenting thousands of species of both pollinators and pollinator-supporting plants. Nearly 5,000 people participated in the national BioBlitz to record these findings using iNaturalist. You can view the results here and see which pollinators were found by visiting NRPA's iNaturalist page. These events bolstered local environmental education, increased awareness of pollinators and the role local parks play in their health and helped parks and communities improve local pollinator habitats.

Pollinators and other beneficial insects are essential to the health of our ecosystems, the resilience of our communities and the preservation of biodiversity. They play a critical role in plant reproduction, enabling nearly 90 percent of the world's flowering plants to thrive. In the United States alone, pollinators support $50 billion in agricultural production each year. By sustaining healthy plant communities, they provide food, habitat and countless environmental benefits that support people, wildlife and the natural systems we all depend on.

"Pollinators are vital to life - more than 75 percent of flowering plants and 35 percent of crops depend on them," said Ayanna Williams, NRPA director of community and environmental resilience. "Through our Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, we're helping communities take action to protect these essential species. Park and recreation professionals are trusted leaders who connect people to nature and play a powerful role in advancing pollinator conservation. We're grateful for their continued dedication."

‟Pollinators are critical for the health of our planet," said Brian Herrington, president of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation. ‟The Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz is a key part of our Pollinator Promise and provides a hands-on way to educate the community about these insects and their habitat. We celebrate the growth of the program over the last seven years, creating lasting benefits for both our green spaces and the pollinators that call them home."

NRPA and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation began their partnership in 2018 with the creation of the Parks for Pollinators campaign to raise public awareness of pollinator health and encourage local action through public parks and pollinator gardens. Together, they are working to educate more children, families and communities about the importance of pollinators and what people can do to help.

To learn more about Parks for Pollinators, find resources or find a local event, visitwwwnrpa.org/parks4pollinators.

To learn more about the GroMoreGood initiative, visithttps://www.GroMoreGood.org.

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About the National Recreation and Park Association

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. With more than 60,000 members, NRPA advances this mission by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals and supporters - the catalysts for positive change in service of parks for all, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being. For more information, visit nrpa.org. For digital access to NRPA's flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit parksandrecreation.org.

About The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation

The mission of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation is to inspire, connect and cultivate a community of purpose. The Foundation is deeply rooted in helping create healthier communities, empower the next generation, and preserve our planet. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that funds non-profit entities that support its core initiatives in the form of grants, endowments and multi-year capital gifts. For more information, visithttps://www.scottsmiraclegrofoundation.org.