Meet the Seven Champions Making a Difference for Pollinators Across North America

Seven pollinator champions across North America are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to pollinator conservation.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — From community-led habitat initiatives in Mexico to native seed production in Oregon and pollinator-friendly vineyard management in Canada, the winners of the 2026 North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Awards demonstrate how people and organizations can make a difference for pollinators across diverse landscapes.

Each October, NAPPC brings together researchers, conservationists, agricultural professionals, and other partners to advance pollinator health across North America. The annual awards recognize individuals and organizations whose work is helping to protect pollinators through habitat conservation, education, research, and sustainable land management. Meet the 2026 award winners below.

Pollinator Advocate Award U.S. Winner: Debra Mackey transformed her passion for gardening into leadership in pollinator education, conservation, and community engagement. As the leader of the Marion County Master Gardener Pollinator Census Team, she advanced Florida’s participation in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census, a multistate community science initiative that monitors pollinator populations. Her efforts broadened public participation and increased awareness of pollinators’ vital role in healthy ecosystems.

Pollinator Advocate Award Canada Winner: Emily McLean activated her community to turn pollinator conservation into a unifying goal. Beginning her advocacy as an undergraduate student, she led successful efforts to establish Halifax as a Bee City and Dalhousie University as a Bee Campus, and has contributed to several pollinator conservation initiatives since. Emily recently completed her Master of Environmental Studies and has begun her PhD focused on ground-nesting bees, while continuing her advocacy efforts.

Pollinator Advocate Award Mexico Winner: Evelyn Pinot Campos is the founder of Urban Pollinators, a community-based initiative in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico. Urban Pollinators transform underused green spaces into refuges for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other local pollinators. They are the first pollinator habitat network in Chiapas, with hopes of linking more pollinator gardens across the region to create the Ts’unu Biological Corridor.

Pollinator Farmer-Rancher U.S. Winner: Institute for Applied Ecology’s Native Seed Farm Team manages the NW Native Seed Farm, a three-acre native seed production operation in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The farm increases the availability of ecologically appropriate native plant seeds for restoration projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. These seeds help maintain supplies of nectar and host plants needed by endangered butterfly species in the region like Fender’s blue butterfly.

Pollinator Farmer-Rancher Canada Winner: Ed Hughes of Hughes Family Vineyards in Niagara, Ontario, has been growing grapes and other fruit crops since 1993. Ed has managed his farm for pollinator health through a variety of on-farm practices: planting native flowering hedgerows, maintaining permanent cover crops, applying Integrated Pest Management, and participating in research efforts to better understand pollinator responses to vineyard management practices.

Pollinator Farmer-Rancher Award Mexico Winner: Maria Guadalupe Vega Mendoza co-founded Centro de Agricultura Regenerativa de la Huasteca, a regenerative agriculture center and Las Meliponas Forest Preserve in El Chino, SLP, Mexico. The Center demonstrates regenerative practices and primarily serves to build the capacity of farmers to transition to high-value pollinator-dependent perennials, rather than the sugarcane monoculture that dominates the region.

Pollinator Electric Power Award Winner: Tiffin Corridor Pollinator Project brings together Hydro One Networks Inc., World Wildlife Fund Canada, and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority to enhance 45 hectares of habitat along a high-voltage transmission corridor in Ontario using native seed. Following planting in 2024, the first year of a multi-year ecological of monitoring project yielded promising preliminary evidence of the reestablishment of remnant grassland that once characterized the region. Monitoring has also documented use of the site by imperiled pollinators, including monarch butterflies and American bumble bees.

ABOUT POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP

Established in 1997, Pollinator Partnership (P2) is the largest 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the health, protection, and conservation of all pollinating animals. P2’s actions for pollinators include education, conservation, restoration, policy, and research. P2’s financial support comes through grants, gifts, memberships, and donations from any interested party. Its policies are science-based, set by its board of directors, and never influenced by any donor. P2 manages the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC). To make a donation or for information, visit https://www.pollinator.org/

Maddie Dong
Pollinator Partnership
+1 415-362-1137
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