By: Kira Ferguson
Bees, bumble bees specifically within the Keweenaw, serve as some of the most important pollinators. Ninety percent of angiosperm species require some sort of pollination by animals, most commonly by bees. In recent years there has been increasing evidence that bees, wild and otherwise, are in decline. Urban areas continue to spread, increasing the interaction between people and insects.
Attitudes held by individuals influence their behavior towards the object or entity in question. This can cause difficulty when environmental researchers and managers are planning and creating new management practices or regulations. This is especially the case regarding “pests” such as the many members of Hymenoptera, the bees and ants family. Unfortunately, many of the pest-like creatures that are often eradicated in areas around are important pollinators.
Because of the decline of many pollinator species and the increased contact between citizens and pollinators, many socio-ecological researchers have begun looking at homeowner attitudes towards pollination and pollinating species. In a self guided research project, I worked with an advisor to survey members of the Keweenaw county regarding their attitudes in these cases. As this is a complicated topic, the survey was conducted as a 15 minute interview. The interview was designed to ask individual homeowners about the frequency with which they interact with pollinators such as bumble bees, how they interact with pollinators, and their attitudes towards them both as pollinators and as creatures seen in their backyards. Most of these questions asked specifically about the values and belief systems that are the foundation of their attitudes.
As the study was on a short time table and participation was voluntary, there were not enough participants to make the results statistically significant. However, we did find trends suggesting that the reported attitudes showed a slight disconnect with the participants behaviors, such as valuing pollinators and their services greatly but removing “pests” from yards. Central route persuasion in the form of outreach is an important part of conservation when such important, yet mistrusted species are being conserved. Behaviors are unlikely to change without significant cause.
Local support is critically important for environmental management. Homeowners, and their attitudes towards conservation species such as bumble bees in a management area could provide great aid to struggling species, or further harm declining populations. While including local community members in decision making or management implementation can cause conflicts and lead to less control or progress than environmental managers would prefer, it is recommended to ensure cooperation with, and progress beyond, the current management plan.
The Xerces Society has done a large amount of work with numerous pollinator species. They are a quality source for members of society that have grown concerned and value the benefits pollinators provide. One resource they provide is a fact sheet that is geared towards shifting the attitudes of homeowners.
Sources:
Ferguson, K., Halvorsen, K., & Phifer, C., SURF Perssonal Research (2016) Michigan Technological University
Grixti, J. C., Wong, L. T., Cameron, S. A., & Favret, C. (2009). Decline of bumble bees (Bombus) in the North American Midwest. Biological conservation, 142(1), 75-84.
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Bees, bumble bees specifically within the Keweenaw, serve as some of the most important pollinators. Ninety percent of angiosperm species require some sort of pollination by animals, most commonly by bees. In recent years there has been increasing evidence that bees, wild and otherwise, are in decline. Urban areas continue to spread, increasing the interaction between people and insects.
Attitudes held by individuals influence their behavior towards the object or entity in question. This can cause difficulty when environmental researchers and managers are planning and creating new management practices or regulations. This is especially the case regarding “pests” such as the many members of Hymenoptera, the bees and ants family. Unfortunately, many of the pest-like creatures that are often eradicated in areas around are important pollinators.
Because of the decline of many pollinator species and the increased contact between citizens and pollinators, many socio-ecological researchers have begun looking at homeowner attitudes towards pollination and pollinating species. In a self guided research project, I worked with an advisor to survey members of the Keweenaw county regarding their attitudes in these cases. As this is a complicated topic, the survey was conducted as a 15 minute interview. The interview was designed to ask individual homeowners about the frequency with which they interact with pollinators such as bumble bees, how they interact with pollinators, and their attitudes towards them both as pollinators and as creatures seen in their backyards. Most of these questions asked specifically about the values and belief systems that are the foundation of their attitudes.
As the study was on a short time table and participation was voluntary, there were not enough participants to make the results statistically significant. However, we did find trends suggesting that the reported attitudes showed a slight disconnect with the participants behaviors, such as valuing pollinators and their services greatly but removing “pests” from yards. Central route persuasion in the form of outreach is an important part of conservation when such important, yet mistrusted species are being conserved. Behaviors are unlikely to change without significant cause.
Local support is critically important for environmental management. Homeowners, and their attitudes towards conservation species such as bumble bees in a management area could provide great aid to struggling species, or further harm declining populations. While including local community members in decision making or management implementation can cause conflicts and lead to less control or progress than environmental managers would prefer, it is recommended to ensure cooperation with, and progress beyond, the current management plan.
The Xerces Society has done a large amount of work with numerous pollinator species. They are a quality source for members of society that have grown concerned and value the benefits pollinators provide. One resource they provide is a fact sheet that is geared towards shifting the attitudes of homeowners.
Sources:
Ferguson, K., Halvorsen, K., & Phifer, C., SURF Perssonal Research (2016) Michigan Technological University
Grixti, J. C., Wong, L. T., Cameron, S. A., & Favret, C. (2009). Decline of bumble bees (Bombus) in the North American Midwest. Biological conservation, 142(1), 75-84.
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Image 3:http://1.bp.blogspot.com
Great post! Your research sounds like it could be very important going forward.
ReplyDeleteI think the dissonance between homeowners attitudes and behaviors about pollinators was interesting. Do you think there could have been some influence that caused the participants to not be entirely honest in their responses? If not, what do you think contributes to this dissonance?
Do you know if there are any programs or plans to implement a program locally to work to change the attitudes of homeowners? How have other programs in the country found success (or not) in changing attitudes?
The most lkely cause is that while they value the service the pollinators provide, they do not value it to the point they are willing to put up with a wasps nest in their yard. Many people are unaware that hornets, wasps, sawflies, beetles, and numerous other species of insects also provide pollination services. Honey bees are in the news the most and so they have become the main concern, regardless of the fact they aren't native to the United States. Bumble bees are actually the best pollinator in the UP as they can withstand the weather better than other bees. Unfortunately many people are afraid of being stung, and go out of their way to discourage such visitors, despite knowing and valuing the services they provide.
DeleteThroughout the course of my study I found very little literature regarding attitudes and pollinators. Unfortunately, most research on pollinators is either on their benefits or their decline, and not truly about ways in which society might be able to prevent the declines. Ideally, any agrihood or community garden outreach would include information about pollinators and their benefits. Currently, however, urban pollinator conservation is being driven by a few concerned individuals doing what they can, rather than an effort to alter attitudes.
Cheerios did a save the bees campaign in which you could get wild flower seeds sent to you after learning more about the decline of bees. I think one way of stopping negative attitudes towards bees is finding eco-friendly ways of stopping them from making nests in the sides of houses or other places where they can cause damage or fear of being stung. Another thing is making people realize the impact of species of insects being extinct and we are causing it. This was a great post and I enjoyed reading it
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, many wideflower seed packs are generic and do not include native seeds. This means they bloom at the wrong time of the year and bees cannot make use of them, instead, land that could be used to grow plants the bees can use is wasted. The save the bees campaign may have given out decent information, but campaign as a whole was more of a hinderance. I wish this issues was as easy to solve as "making" people realize, but unfortunately, social sciences aren't that simple.
DeleteInteresting topic. I think educating people on this issue is most important - providing the risks/benefits (that most people probably don't think about or disregard) as well as steps people can take to improve their interaction with bumble bees. I think campaigns could be effective if done correctly using the central route of persuasion like you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting topic to listen about. My biology professor at community college ran a small apiary, so I learned a little bit from him, but he never talked about the importance of pollination. The way you talked about negative attitudes from community members because many of these pollinators are 'pests' makes sense but is unfortunate. You say that local support is critical and I definitely agree. I think getting the support to have a more supportive attitude towards bees and other pollinators can greatly increase the amount of work community members are willing to put into it.
ReplyDeleteI found the information you presented to be valuable and interesting. I believe this is an important topic which has become more and more prevalent within the last ten or so years, the impact of bees. I do think it would be beneficial to educate more people about this impact. The problem though is presenting the information in an effective manner. The central route to persuasion could work, as you mentioned, but I think such informational material would need to be much more widely spread to create any real sort of change.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read! Your study sounds really interesting. I’ve never understood why people don’t like bees or are afraid of them. They’re so important to the environment and I’m glad there are organizations fighting to save them.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am very scared of bees but I understand why they are important to the environment. I really enjoyed your post and it makes be a little less scared of bees because I understand even more so why they are important. Also, I was not aware there were so many companies trying to help save the bees and I never really though about how the kind of flowers we plant can affect the bees so much.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see how we could change people's attitudes and behaviors towards bees and other "pests" that are so important ecologically, and how we could change the minds of homeowners who want the "perfect home", free of anything they consider to be a detriment to their pristine look.
ReplyDeleteAlso, have you looked into how we, as individuals can help to save the bees in our own ways? Like which plants to avoid, and which chemicals to not use on lawns and such.
Bees are such an interesting topic, because it's another one of those things people don't think very much about. I love that you asked participants how they "interact" with bees; I'm just imagining them walking out to the garden, seeing a bumble bee and saying "hello, how are you doing today?" I admittedly do this quite frequently. I can see why a lot of people had mixed messages about bees, when I was a child I got stung a lot and had a lot of friends who saw bees as vicious enemies, but I'm glad your participants didn't seem to have that view.
ReplyDelete