Native Pollinator Initiative
Ninety per cent of all flowering plants can’t reproduce without the help of pollinators. And those plants, in turn, support thousands of other species. That makes insect pollinators such as butterflies, flies, moths, beetles and bees a cornerstone of natural ecosystems (not to mention crop production).
Several pollinating butterfly and bee species have recently been categorized as at risk in Canada. Wildlife Preservation Canada’s Native Pollinator Initiative — our first nationwide multi-species recovery effort — aims to save these important insects from extinction.
However, doing that means pioneering new approaches: conservation management for insects is a relatively new field in North America.
Since the launch of our program in 2013, we’ve collaborated with numerous partners in Canada, the U.S. and overseas. We’ve established conservation breeding colonies, co-created the www.bumblebeewatch.org website, hosted educational workshops, spearheaded scientific research and supported efforts to improve and/or restore habitat.
Active WPC Recovery Projects
Partnerships and Supported Research
Our Recovery Team
Andrea Gielens
Lead Biologist – Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly
Andrea manages the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery program in BC. Andrea has studied in Canada and abroad, including a term at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey. Andrea also manages our captive breeding and release programs for the coastal western painted turtle and Oregon spotted frog.
Cole Blair
Lead Biologist – Native Pollinator Initiative
Cole’s time with WPC began as a graduate student at the University of Toronto, where he researched harmful parasites in bumble bees (he looked at a LOT of bee poop). He has since played a supporting role as a technician in both the field and in our bumble bee Conservation Breeding Lab. As the Lead Biologist, Cole hopes to demonstrate to others that any conservation engagement – no matter how big or small – can go a long way.
Project Staff
Parker Smale
Lead Bumble Bee Breeding Technician
Parker came to WPC with an in-built passion for conservation breeding after experience rearing many types of insects. As the lead technician for WPC’s bumble bee breeding program, he specialized in data wrangling, pollen chefery, and entomological match-making. Now, as the program’s lab biologist, his focus is on refining rearing methods to improve conservation breeding outcomes: most recently, his work has contributed to the lab’s first successful yellow-banded bumble bee mating!
Jag Athwal
Assistant Biologist – Taylor’s Checkerspot Recovery
Jag is working with WPC as an Assistant Biologist for the recovery of the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly. He started with WPC in 2023 as a nest monitoring technician for Western Painted Turtles. Jag graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, majoring in Ecological Restoration, bringing a foundation in ecosystem management to their current work. His experience with endangered species monitoring has deepened their appreciation for the intricate relationships within ecosystems. What he values most is the crucial role humans play in preserving and restoring landscapes for endangered species, seeing conservation as a collaborative effort between nature and society.
How you can help
- Join our Community Science initiatives! Contact pollinators@wildlifepreservation.ca
- Create a Pollinator-friendly garden! Help reverse the loss of native pollinator habitat on your property by protecting or planting native flowering plants. Aim to have a diversity of plants that flower from spring through fall. Pollination Guelph has curated an excellent list of resources to get you started.
- Build a bee nest out of a recycled milk carton.
- Don’t remove colonies of native bees on your property. Bumble bees are quite docile when undisturbed and usually will only sting when trapped.
- Support organic agriculture.
- Take photos of any bumble bees you see in North America and submit them to bumblebeewatch.org. This will help us locate rare bumble bees and learn more about all Canadian bumble bees.
- Choose alternatives to pesticides or reduce the amount of chemicals you use.
- Shop organic
- Contact your local government office and let them know that you support responsible land use planning that protects and connects natural areas and endangered species habitat
- Report sightings of rare species to your provincial/territorial Conservation Data Centre
- Support Wildlife Preservation Canada.