Last week was Pollinator Week, an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that raises awareness for pollinators and ways we can protect them. It began in the United States in 2007 as a step to address the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. It has since become an international celebration that promotes the valuable ecosystem services provided by pollinators.

Many people think of bees when they hear the term pollinator, but in truth pollinators include bees, birds, butterflies, bats, beetles, moths, wasps and flies. This year’s pollinator of the year is the flower fly. Learn more about the flower fly here.

There is an important relationship between pollinators and grasslands and forages, particularly flowering forages like alfalfa, clover and other legumes. Grasslands provide habitat for pollinators and pollinators help increase the production and quality of flowering forages. Given this relationship, the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) celebrates pollinators during Pollinator Week and year-round.

One way the CFGA does this is through the Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award. Co-presented with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and the Pollinator Partnership (P2), this award recognizes an individual or family in the farm and ranch community who has contributed significantly to pollinator species protection and conservation in Canada. More information and nomination forms are available here.