Noticing how infrequently we see monarchs and bumble bees now than in years past, we’re constantly reminded that pollinators are in trouble. Pollinator decline is a harsh reality, but the good news is Project Wingspan offers volunteers a way to help turn it around!
Project Wingspan (PW) is a program that turns citizens into prairie stewards, and Midwestern acres into pollinator habitat. A multisector collaborative effort managed by Pollinator Partnership throughout AR, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, PA, and WI, Project Wingspan has successfully helped enhance tens of thousands of pollinator habitat acres in the Monarch Flyway. PW achieved this in only a few years, thanks to hundreds of dedicated volunteers.
Seed collecting volunteers are provided with training to make valuable contributions to supporting migrating monarchs and the imperiled rusty patched bumble bee. No prior seed collecting experience is required.
Project Wingspan is also looking for landowners and public land managers with robust native plant populations, who are interested in supporting local habitat restoration efforts by serving as native seed collection sites. To see PW’s target plants and sign-up as a potential seed collection location, please fill out the online form here. And if you’d like to get your habitat counted in PW’s landscape survey, click here.
Project Wingspan also provides educational support and technical guidance to land managers through BMP workshops. To be notified about these trainings as well as other activities and resources that Pollinator Partnership has available visit our Take Action page.
PW is a great opportunity for Illinois Sierra Club Monarch Team members to engage with their local community, support pollinators, and gain valuable skills. For more information about how you can get involved contact Eleanor Schumacher, the Illinois PW State Coordinator by email or phone (510) 285-7879.