Final report for ENE22-175
Project Information
Problem or Opportunity and Justification: Apples, and other early spring, tree fruits, nuts, and berries, are high-value, pollinator-dependent crops in the Northeast. Production of early spring crops is entirely dependent on the availability of bee pollinators. In the Northeast, over 3000 family farms covering 62,707 acres with total annual sales of $690M rely on a stable supply of native and managed pollinators. While many growers in the Northeast rely on honey bees for pollination, our work over the past 20 years in New York has revealed that much of New York apple pollination is achieved by native, wild bees. Our studies have revealed a diverse fauna of over 120 wild bee species visiting flowering apple trees. Based on empirical studies, we have shown that wild bees are more effective pollinators (on a per visit basis) than honeybees. Analyses incorporating abundance and per-visit effectiveness indicate that the wild bee community contributes significant value to the production of high-value, tree-fruit in New York. Furthermore, surveys of over 600 apple growers in New York and Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2012 revealed an appreciation for the role of wild bees in apple pollination, but also revealed gaps in grower knowledge about how best to manage landscape and pesticide use, and how to quantify the abundance and effectiveness of the wild bee community.
Solution and Approach: We sought to address this knowledge gap by developing educational materials for agricultural service providers in the Northeast. We developed educational modules focused on five topics: (1) wild bee biodiversity, ecology, and natural history in the eastern US (apple orchards in particular), (2) the economic value of wild and managed bees as agricultural pollinators, (3) habitat management for enhancing wild bee populations, (4) best management practices for pollinator-friendly pesticide use, and (5) Project GNBee, which introduces key concepts in ground-nesting bee research, conservation, and applied management. We provided information, PowerPoint presentations, videos, and in-person and virtual training to a team of 30 agricultural service providers in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. These materials allowed agricultural service providers to educate growers across the Northeast about the diversity, value, and management of wild pollinators. Our educational program allows growers to diversify their “pollinator portfolio” so that eastern fruit tree pollination is less dependent on a single, managed pollinator, the European honey bee (Apis mellifera). Expanding and diversifying the “pollinator portfolio” of eastern fruit producers will help growers reduce the cost associated with pollination, will render eastern tree-fruit producers less dependent on the unpredictable and fluctuating availability of honey bee colonies, and will make tree fruit production more environmentally sustainable over the long term. Project materials are publicly available via the Northeast Pollinator Partnership.
Thirty agricultural service providers will educate over 600 apple and other early spring flowering tree-fruit producers about five key aspects of pollinator biology and pollinator management: (1) bee biodiversity, ecology, and natural history, (2) the economic value of wild and managed bees, (3) habitat management for enhancing wild bee populations, (4) best management practices and updated guidelines for pollinator-friendly pesticide use, and (5) the use of a smartphone-based bee monitoring tool that guides pollinator management decisions.
Apples, and other early spring, tree fruits, nuts, and berries, are high-value, pollinator-dependent crops in the Northeast. Production of early spring crops is entirely dependent on the availability of bee pollinators. In the Northeast, over 62,000 acres with total annual sales of $690M rely on a stable supply of native and managed pollinators. While many growers in the Northeast rely on honey bees for pollination, our work over the past 20 years in New York has revealed that much of New York apple pollination is achieved by native, wild bees. We seek to educate growers about the diversity of wild the northeast wild bee community, their importance in agriculture here in the northeast, their ecology so that they can better understand how their orchard and habitat management impact their wild bee community and how to assess their wild bee contribution to their orchards. Surveys of over 600 apple growers in New York and Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2012 revealed gaps in grower knowledge about how best to manage landscape and pesticide use, and how to quantify the abundance and effectiveness of the wild bee community. This project addresses this knowledge gap by providing educational materials for agricultural service providers in the Northeast and training them on how to deliver it. The materials consist of five modules: (1) wild bee biodiversity, ecology, and natural history in the eastern US (apple orchards in particular), (2) the economic value of wild and managed bees as agricultural pollinators, (3) habitat management for enhancing wild bee populations, (4) best management practices for pollinator-friendly pesticide use, and (5) Project GNBee, which introduces key concepts in ground-nesting bee research, conservation, and applied management. We provided PowerPoint presentations, videos, and in-person and virtual training to a team of 30 agricultural service providers in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. These materials helped agricultural service providers to educate growers across the Northeast about the diversity, value, and management of wild pollinators. Our educational program helped growers diversify their “pollinator portfolio” so that eastern fruit tree pollination is less dependent on a single, managed pollinator, the European honey bee (Apis mellifera).
Cooperators
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
Educational approach
Engagement: Our project focused on educating agricultural service providers and, ultimately, the tree fruit, nut, and berry producers of the northeast about the biology, ecology, and importance of wild bees as crop pollinators including how to monitor and manage their native and managed pollinator community for sustainable pollination. We started with an experienced team of agricultural service providers and are expanded our contact list through their contacts with extension professionals across the Northeast.
Learning: We developed and delivered training materials focused on five topics: (1) the diversity, biology and ecology of eastern North America’s wild (native) bees, (2) the habitat, host plant, and nesting (ecological) requirements of wild bees, (3) the effectiveness of wild bees as crop pollinators, and (4) best management practices for controlling orchard pests and diseases while simultaneously protecting native/wild pollinator populations. We provided service providers with downloadable presentations, printed materials, and videos for use in their outreach and education programs. We also developed a final module (5) to introduce key concepts in ground-nesting bee research, conservation, and applied management through Project GNBee.
Educational modules:
- Diversity of bees in the northeast – In this module we provide information on the biology, life history, sociality, floral associations, nesting habits, and status of the bees of the Northeast, especially those that play a key role in crop pollination. This first module would be foundation-building and would lay the groundwork for the subsequent modules.
- Habitat management for wild bees – In this module we provide information on the key habitat requirements for wild bees, including floral resources, nesting resources, and soil requirements. These elements are used to enhance ecological conditions and develop best management practices for wild bee populations in pollinator-dependent crop landscapes.
- Balancing effective pest-management while simultaneously protecting wild pollinators – In this module we provide up-to-date information on best management practices for herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide use in eastern tree fruit, nut, and berry farms. Our goal is to present the best advice possible to allow growers to simultaneously control crop pests as well as protect pollinator populations in and around agricultural habitats. Staff at Cornell’s Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP), a key partner in this project, reviewed pesticide recommendations for accuracy and regulatory compliance.
- Quantifying the economic value of wild pollinators – In this module we provide a framework for examining the economic contribution of wild and managed bees to crop pollination based on data gathered from our work on orchard pollinators over the past 15 years. We discuss factors used to quantify pollinator importance (pollinator abundance x per-visit effectiveness) and we introduce how one measures these variables in the field. We also discuss how landscape context and management practices impact the abundance of wild and managed pollinators.
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Project GNBee --This module introduces key concepts in ground-nesting bee research, conservation, and applied management. Participants will learn how to use iNaturalist, a free, user-friendly tool for documenting biodiversity, and how to contribute high-quality observations that advance our understanding of bee nesting biology. This session is especially valuable for growers, extension professionals, and crop consultants interested in assessing the local diversity, abundance, and nesting proximity of wild pollinators. We highlight how farmers and land managers can benefit from identifying nesting aggregations to better evaluate their pollination sources and services, ultimately strengthening pollination strategies. Through this effort, agricultural service providers and landowners gain access to real-time taxonomic expertise and receive training in generating scientifically valuable data that supports the discovery and documentation of ground-nesting bee populations. By participating in this community science initiative, contributors play a critical role in advancing pollinator research, informing conservation practices, and supporting sustainable pollination across working landscapes.
Evaluation: We evaluated the program modules through regular meetings with our advisory committee and with the broader community of agricultural service providers in order to update educational materials and course content.
Milestones
Maria VanDyke (supported on the grant 2022-2024), Shianne Lindsay (supported on the grant 2025) and Bryan Danforth (Project PI) will be involved in all milestones outlined below.
Engagement -- Recruit service providers to the program (2 months) – In the first two months of the project, we used our current group of engaged agricultural service providers to identify and recruit additional service providers to the program. We used existing networks, such as Cornell Cooperative Extension, New York State IPM, and Northeast IPM, to spread the word about our program and to recruit additional agricultural service providers. Service providers enlisted in the program via the Northeast Pollinator Partnership website which provided us with a regular means of communicating with group participants via monthly blog posts and email messaging.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 50
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: 0
Proposed completion date: May 3, 2022
Status (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: In addition to the Service Providers that supported our proposal we have gained 17 additional service providers through direct emails and through our subscribe link on our website (NEPP) simply through the announcement that we will have the Education Modules accessible that will teach them about wild bees and teach them how to share this information with their growers through power points, handouts, and instruction.
Engagement -- Develop platform for sharing educational materials (1 month) -- In the first three months of the project, we developed a cloud-based platform (DropBox) for sharing educational materials with our group of agricultural service providers. This platform allows us to share documents, PowerPoint presentations, videos, lectures, and other training materials with the project participants. The availability of the materials via a publicly accessible cloud storage platform allowed us to engage in recruiting agricultural service providers to the program.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: 0
Proposed completion date: June 1, 2022
Status: (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: We created a publicly available DropBox folder which provides materials (powerpoint presentations + recorded lectures) for each of the five proposed modules.
Link to DropBox folder (for viewing): Northeast Pollinator Partnership
Learning -- Develop and deliver module 1 -- Diversity and Ecology of bees in NY and the northeast (6 months) – Service providers and growers will learn about the biology, life history, sociality, floral associations, nesting habits, and status of the bees of the northeast, especially those that play a key role in the pollination of tree fruits, nuts, and berries. This first model would be foundation-building and would lay the groundwork for the subsequent modules. Maria VanDyke and Shianne Lindsay will give presentations to grower groups as well as to our group of agricultural service providers. PowerPoint presentations, informational materials, and video presentations will be posted on the project Box platform for sharing with all project participants (this applies to all learning modules below).
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30 (Currently have about 20)
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: Up to now ~35-40 "ongoing". Goal is 150 (by end of funding cycle).
Proposed completion date: Jan. 15, 2023
At this point we have only shared the video and ppt with those of the Advisory committee but we Link to Webpage and Module 1
Status (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: For this milestone we have completed and shared through a Cornell Box platform link a 1) PowerPoint and 2) a video of how to give the presentation, that educators can use to deliver their own presentation on the diversity and ecology of wild bee species in agriculture. The idea is that the educator watches the video of Maria giving the presentation in a very comprehensive manner then they can download the PowerPoint and use the slides they feel are most relevant for the goal of their education event and then present the slides with the knowledge our video has bestowed upon the educator. The idea is that the comprehensive video of Maria giving the presentation will give the educator extra knowledge that will help them answer questions that their grower may bring up. Goal: Educate the educator on the diversity of wild bee species in agriculture in the northeast and the life history and ecological traits that are important to understand when considering habitat needs and why and how pesticides impact wild bees in the landscape. Deliverables: 1) PPT, 2) Video of Presentation
Module 1 - The Diversity & Life History of Wild Native Bees in Pollinator Dependent Crops
Learning -- Develop and deliver module 2 -- Habitat Management for wild bees (6 months) – In this module, service providers will learn about the key habitat requirements for wild bees, including floral resources, nesting resources, and soil requirements all within a life history framework. These elements will be used to develop best management practices for managing orchards and surrounding landscapes for wild bee conservation.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: goal 150 (by end of funding cycle)
Proposed completion date: February, 2024
Status (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: In 2023 we completed and shared through our DropBox platform links to (1) Habitat Management for Wild Bees PowerPoint and (2) a video of how to give the presentation, that educators can use to deliver their own presentation on the diversity and ecology of wild bee species in agriculture. Vision: The idea is that the educator watches the video of Maria giving the presentation in a very comprehensive manner then they can download the PowerPoint and use the slides they feel are most relevant for the goal of their education event and then present the slides with the knowledge our video has bestowed upon the educator. The idea is that the comprehensive video of Maria giving the presentation will give the educator extra knowledge that will help them answer questions that their grower may bring up. Goal: Educate the educator on the habitat needs of wild native northeastern bee species, and tips on how to plan for and create good native bee habitat.
Deliverables: 1) PPT, 2) Video of Presentation
Learning -- Develop and deliver module 3 -- Balancing effective pest-management while simultaneously protecting wild pollinators (6 months) – In this module, service providers will learn the current best practices for herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide use in eastern tree fruits, nut, and berry farms. . Information will allow service providers to engage in conversations with growers on how best to simultaneously control pests as well as protect pollinator populations in and around farms, fields, and orchards. This module will include substantial feedback from growers about their experiences and challenges.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: 150
Proposed completion date: April, 2024
Status (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: In 2023 we completed and shared through our DropBox platform links to (1) Quantifying the Economic Value of Wild Bees in Agriculture PowerPoint and (2) a video of how to give the presentation, that educators can use to deliver their own presentation on herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide use in eastern tree fruits, nut, and berry farms. Vision: The educator watches the video of Maria giving the presentation in a very comprehensive manner then they can download the PowerPoint and use the slides they feel are most relevant for the goal of their education event and then present the slides with the knowledge our video has bestowed upon the educator. The idea is that the comprehensive video of Maria giving the presentation will give the educator extra knowledge that will help them answer questions that their grower may bring up. Goal: Educate the educator about the lethal, sublethal, and synergistic effects of pesticides to bees in apple orchards, with a focus on mitigating the impacts of pesticides on wild bees.
Deliverables: 1) PPT, 2) Video of Presentation (by February 2024)
Learning -- Develop and deliver module 4 -- Quantifying the economic value of wild pollinators (6 months) – In this module, service providers will learn about the basic framework for quantifying the economic contribution of wild and managed bees. We will discuss how one quantifies pollinator importance (pollinator abundance x per-visit effectiveness) and we will discuss how one measures these variables in the field.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: So far 150. Goal is 150 (by end of funding cycle).
Proposed completion date: February, 2024
Status (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: In 2023 we completed and shared through our DropBox platform links to (1) Quantifying the Economic Value of Wild Bees in Agriculture PowerPoint and (2) a video of how to give the presentation, that educators can use to deliver their own presentation on the diversity and ecology of wild bee species in agriculture. Vision: The educator watches the video of Maria giving the presentation in a very comprehensive manner then they can download the PowerPoint and use the slides they feel are most relevant for the goal of their education event and then present the slides with the knowledge our video has bestowed upon the educator. The idea is that the comprehensive video of Maria giving the presentation will give the educator extra knowledge that will help them answer questions that their grower may bring up. Goal: Educate the educator on basic framework for quantifying the economic contribution of wild and managed bees to tree fruit pollination.
Deliverables: 1) PPT, 2) Video of Presentation
Module 4- Quantifying the Economic & Ecological Value of Wild Native Bees in Agriculture
Learning -- Develop and deliver module 5 -- Project GNBee (6 months) – This module introduces key concepts in ground-nesting bee research, conservation, and applied management. Participants will learn how to use iNaturalist, a free, user-friendly tool for documenting biodiversity, and how to contribute high-quality observations that advance our understanding of bee nesting biology. This session is especially valuable for growers, extension professionals, and crop consultants interested in assessing the local diversity, abundance, and nesting proximity of wild pollinators. We will highlight how farmers and land managers can benefit from identifying nesting aggregations to better evaluate their pollination sources and services, ultimately strengthening pollination strategies. Through this effort, agricultural service providers and landowners will gain access to real-time taxonomic expertise and receive training in generating scientifically valuable data that supports the discovery and documentation of ground-nesting bee populations. By participating in this community science initiative, contributors play a critical role in advancing pollinator research, informing conservation practices, and supporting sustainable pollination across working landscapes.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: So far 200. Goal is 150 (by end of funding cycle).
Proposed completion date: February, 2025
Status (as of 3/21/26): Complete
Accomplishments: Powerpoint and recorded lecture uploaded to DropBox.
Deliverables: 1) PPT, 2) Video of Presentation
Module 5 - Project GNBee
Engagement and evaluation – Regular feedback at educational training events -- Throughout the duration of the project we conducted informal surveys of agricultural service provider feedback via regular conference calls with our partners. We estimate that our agricultural service provider network connected with over 1000 growers at annual training events throughout the Northeast.
Proposed realistic number of service providers who participate: 30
Proposed Number of farmers who participate: 600
Proposed completion date: Nov. 30, 2025
Milestone activities and participation summary
Educational activities and events conducted by the project team:
2 - Online informational discussion with growers and Ag Consultants to develop reasonable pesticide application program that supports bee health but also protects crops.
3 - Quarterly working meetings with KDP Mott's consultants to educate about Bee diversity (Module1), habitat management of wild bees (module 2) and sustainable pesticide management for support wild bees (module 3 draft) and using the NEPP bee abundance monitoirng app (moodule 5).
Participants in the project’s educational activities:
Learning Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
30
Thirty agricultural service providers will educate over 600 apple and other early spring flowering tree-fruit producers about five key aspects of pollinator biology and pollinator management: (1) bee biodiversity, ecology, and natural history, (2) the economic value of wild and managed bees, (3) habitat management for enhancing wild bee populations, (4) best management practices and updated guidelines for pollinator-friendly pesticide use, and (5) the use of a smartphone-based bee monitoring tool that guides pollinator management decisions.
600
15,000-30,000 acres
25
500
Growers in the northeast manage 10-200 acres of apple in general some up to 1000. This education series is focused on apple growers however we have included additional information for small fruit growers and educators to make it relevant to the most common pollinator dependent crops in the Northeast.
We know that at least 15 growers that are processing apple growers changed pesticide practices on a group total of about 200-250 processing apple acres this last season 2023 and will continue to take additional actions for the next 3 years. While they manage more apple acreage than that we do not yet know if they will expand the experimental pesticide program that was supported by the pesticide education module (and suppport from Maria and the IPM instituate of America).
We also know that one grower that cultivates about 800 acres of apple is in the process of implementing habitat restoration through NRCS at mulitple sites. The grower stated that it was a choice made as a result of what they have learned about native wild bee importance in apple. Unfortunately we do not know how much of his 800 acres received the NRCS planning.
The other 11 growers we do not have data about acreage because these were verbal or email reports from extension professionals that had worked one on one with growers in their area or professionals that reported that their 'grower clientel' has been reporting some of the changes or ideas that paying attention to since learning the new information.
- 24 Consultations
- 2 On-farm demonstrations
- 1 Tours
- 2 Webinars/talks/presentations
- 1 Workshops/field days
- 1 (While this 'Other Activity' was not done by other education providers but by Maria it was supported by several key personnel at Kuerig Dr Pepper who work with New York Apple growers. It is a long term partneship which has been enhanced by the work done for meeting this SARE project. Kerig Dr Pepper, asked Maria to deliever Modules 1, 2, 4, 5, and a draft of 3, to their apple growers and the consultants that work with these growers. We are now working on a three year project where the growers want to incororate habitat enhancment and change the pesticides they use while monitoring the bees to see how their bee abuandcnce changes over the three year project. The growers and consultants will be directed to the modules each year of the project in addition to the one on one consultations Maria does on the side to support their actions taken.
Over the course of the 3-year project, we have engaged extension, grower consultants, and industry program managers who would like to work towards educating their grower communities about the biology and conservation of wild pollinators in agricultural habitats. Since the start of the project we have at least 27 new contacts with many more saying they will engage once modules are published and trainings are planned and implemented. We used our existing networks, such as Cornell Cooperative Extension, New York State IPM, and Northeast IPM to recruit additional agricultural service providers. These service providers have enlisted for the program via the Northeast Pollinator Partnership website which lets them add their information to our list serv which will be used to provide them with access to distributed materials via our DropBox platform which can be shared with anyone who has the link.
The project resulted in the development of five educational modules, each of which includes an associated power-point presentation and recorded lecture to be used in education with farmers:
Module 1 - The Diversity & Life History of Wild Native Bees in Pollinator Dependent Crops
Module 2 - Evaluating, Creating, and Managing Habitat for Wild Native Bees in Pollinator Dependent Agriculture in the Northeast
Module 3 - Pesticides, their Effects, and their Management for Protecting Wild Native Bee species in Pollinator Dependent Ag
Module 4- Quantifying the Economic & Ecological Value of Wild Native Bees in Agriculture
Module 5 - Project GNBee [This last module is a new addition that we did not include in the original proposal, but has been added because we have a new research project on conserving ground-nesting bee aggregations as a conservation priority for maintaining healthy native bee populations.]
Overall, the project has produced meaningful educational materials for the pollinator-dependent specialty crop community of the Northeast.
Performance Target Outcomes - Farmers
Target #1
60
The focus of our project was to develop materials for the extension communities of the Northeast. We have accomplished this goal. Our extension partners now have the resources to give informative presentations to their respective grower communities.
Specific behavioral changes that we are promoting to growers throughout the five educational modules include:
1) Tighten up IPM scouting so that less pesticides can be used
2) Adjust pesticide program to reduce active ingredients that are being shown in research to effect the health and reproduction of wild bees and honey bees.
3) Incorporate habitat managment practices that increase floral rewards AND access to safe ground nest sites outside of the ag field/orchard.
4) Incorporate habitat managment practices that support wild native bees in general (no tilling, mow only 1/3 of field edge every year to spur flowering plants suppress weeds and also leave some habitat each year)
5) We would like every grower of a pollinator dependent crop to do the Bee Abundance survey during their crops bloom every years so that they can start to understand their bee population and how it fluctuates during the bloom and across years.
6) We want growers to make an effort to understand wild native bee biology and life history so they are more aware of what their actions in the field might have on their local wild bee community.
10-1000 acres depending on grower
40
As stated above (service provider verifications) we can only estimate but somewhere between 250-500 acres 2023-2025.
Additional Project Outcomes
Soon after we used our cross state institutional network to reach out to other agricultural service providers around the northeast we were contacted by the Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation corporate responsibility program of Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) Corporation to be a part of developing enhanced IPM protocols for Mott's apple growers with the goal of wild pollinator conservation in mind. This KDP grant has further lead us into a collaborative realationship with the IPM Institute of North America which has been a very exciting experience of informaiton sharing, where we are all benefiting from each others knowledge. This relationship will benefit Module 3 of this project titled Balancing effective pest-management while simultaneously protecting wild pollinators,
Additionally, the goals of this SARE project have been highly regarded by New York Ag and Markets (NYSDAM) team who is providing the capacity and nudges the growers to adopt best practices put forth by the New York Pollinator Protection Plan.
In 2024 we also gained support for a complimentary project that will benefit apple growers where we are experimenting with transplanting ground nesting bee popualtions into apple orchards that have low numbers of wild native bees. It is an experimental program at this point. We do not yet know if these transplants will be successful or if benefits outweigh costs but we recieved monetary support to our lab to do the work based on the discussions that have been generating since we started this SARE project. Project Lead on that is Jordan Kueneman, Post Doc & Bryan Danforth.
In 2024 Maria was invited to give the Habitat Restoration Module to an AG Management Class at SUNY CobleSkill. Maria is talking with the professor about training the professor to give this talk or find a way to integrate the information into her curriculum.
We also were approached to collaborate to submit a USDA grant proposal with EcoApple and other Cornell Departments around Regenerative Agricultural Practices in 2025.
In 2025 we built upon the success of Project GNBee to reach a massive audience of naturalists, gardeners, and homeowners interested in learning more about the biology of ground-nesting bees. This project is directed both toward the general public but increasingly toward the agricultural community through additional funding from the Atkinson Center at Cornell. To date our project has allowed us to obtain over 8,900 observations of over 500 species of bees, contributed by ~3,700 individuals via the iNaturalist platform. To date, 1,500 people have officially joined the project and have expressed interest to stay engaged.
Extension professionals for Apple mentioned how the knowledge helped enhance the feedback and biological knowledge they could give to their growers when conducting an on farm visit which led to a more engaging conversation with the grower. Another extension agent who works with grape growers who reviewed a draft of the Habitat Management Module which is currently under development was inspired to re-initiate habitat enhancement discussions with her growers using some of the simple actions that can be taken as well as the empirical research that supports it.
Our biggest success story for 2024 is the collaboration with Kuerig Dr Pepper which has helped us experiemnt with the roll out of our Five Modules. It has also helped us collaorate with the IPM Insititute for America to develop a FIRST 'Baby' STEPS alternative pesticide program that we have the great opportunity to carry out trial on with Mott's Apple GRowers. If this program is successful in all ways, we can start promoting it. While the program really only gets at the 'lowest hanging fruit' it is a way to build relationships with growers and even more to build trust. We think of it as baby steps. MAny of the growers in this program stated that they like their traditional spray program but by the end of the first year they were saying, "Well those chemical adjustments/changes were not so scary and now we're curious about our bees. What kind of habitat changes would you suggest?". This was a fabulous outcome and they feel supported the entire way. We wouldn't have had all the material or time to get involved with this project unless SARE had supported us to create these Modules.
Summarizing the results of Project GNBee to date, we have given 8 talks and recorded 9 podcasts and online presentations:
Talks:
Oneida County Extension Master Gardeners — Project GNBee: How You Can Help Preserve Ground-Nesting, Solitary Bees — July 15, 2025
Tompkins County Master Gardeners — Project GNBee: How You Can Help Preserve Ground-Nesting, Solitary Bees — July 8, 2025
Xerces Society Webinar — Learn About Ground-Nesting Bees with Cornell’s Project GNBee — May 22, 2025
Bee City USA (Trumansburg, NY) — Project GNBee: How You Can Help Preserve Ground-Nesting, Solitary Bees — May 9, 2025
Washington Native Bee Society — A Guided Tour of Bee Brood Cell Ecosystems and the Science Behind Project GNBee — April 24, 2025
Ecological Society of America (Poster) — Harnessing Community Science to Conserve and Study Ground-Nesting Bee Aggregations — November 10, 2024
Ecological Society of America — A Tourist Guide to the Bee Brood Cell Mini-Ecosystem — November 10, 2024
Cornell Cooperative Extension / Master Gardeners Program — Host-Plant Specialist Bees: Biology, Biodiversity, and Conservation in Backyard Landscapes — November 19, 2024
Podcasts, Webinars and Recorded Lectures:
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension — Ground-Nesting Bees and Applied Pollination Ecology — March 2026
(Regional Extension training for agricultural audiences; recorded presentation with ~1,000 attendees and 135 additional online views); here
NYC Master Naturalist (Ambassador Program) — Participatory Pollinator Research (“My Little Bees” Initiative) — January 2026;
(Urban community science training; recording with ~50 attendees and 73 additional online views) here, here
Washington Native Bee Society — Ground-Nesting Bees and Community Science Approaches — June 2025
(Regional outreach to naturalists and educators; recorded presentation with ~100 attendees and ~615 additional online views); here
Xerces Society Webinar / Bee City USA — Ground-Nesting Bees: Ecology, Conservation, and Management — May 2025
(National training webinar for conservation professionals; recorded presentation with ~450 attendees and ~1300 additional online views) here
Backyard Ecology Podcast — Ground-Nesting Bees (Episode 96 + Recorded Lecture) — February 2025
(Public-facing outreach via podcast and video platforms; recorded presentation with ~10,000 views) here and here
PolliNation Podcast — Native Bees and Ground-Nesting Ecology — July 2024
(National science communication platform; recorded episode with ~32 views); here
DC Master Gardener Program — Ground-Nesting Bees and Pollinator Stewardship — July 1, 2024 (presentation with ~150 attendees)
(Extension training audience; in-person and/or recorded delivery)
Wheen Bee Webinar — Connecting People and Pollinators Through Ground-Nesting Bees (Project GNBee) — May 2024
(National audience recorded presentation with ~300 attendees and ~86 additional online views); here
Wild Ones Webinar — Ground-Nesting Bees and Pollinator Habitat Management — April 2024 ((presentation with ~175 attendees)
(National audience of restoration practitioners and conservationists; live webinar delivery)
Project GNBee has ongoing funding from Cornell Atkinson and USDA Multistate program which will allow us to continue this work into the future.
We successfully completed the development of training materials across five topic areas. These training materials will be of long-lasting use to the extension communities of the Northeast. We did struggle to communicate our results to the extension community, including the agricultural service providers, who were the main target audience.
Information Products
- Module1: The Diversity & Life History of Wild Native Bees in Pollinator Dependent Crops
- Module 2: Evaluating, Creating, and Managing Habitat for Wild Native Bees in Pollinator Dependent Agriculture in the Northeast
- Module 4: Quantifying the Economic & Ecological Value of Wild Native Bees in Agriculture
- Module 5: Connecting People and Pollinators Through Nesting Data — Project Ground-Nesting Bee (GNBee)
- Module 3: Pesticides, their Effects, and their Management for Protecting Wild Native Bee species in Pollinator Dependent Ag