Pollinate Sweden
We founded Pollinate Sweden in 2017 to spread knowledge and awareness about the situation for solitary bees, bumblebees, honeybees and other pollinators.
We had realised that, despite the importance of pollination in food production, knowledge was still too scarce on how to befriend pollinators. We saw the importance to reach out with correct information to politicians, farmers, food producers, engineers, landscape architects, gardeners, teachers and the public in our country.
For this purpose Pollinate Sweden gathered some of Sweden’s experts and representatives of NGOs working with pollination.
The first workshop took place at the beginning of December 2017 in Stockholm. There was full agreement to start a collaboration between the twenty representatives taking part, and since we have held several workshops and meetings on different topics.
We launched the National Pollination Week in May 2017 and there has since been increasing attention for pollination and pollinators both from the public, our network and media.
Every autumn we arrange the award Pollinator of the Year is to reward person, company, institition or organisation that has been working for the cause.
Mission
We want the question of pollination to become as important and well known as climate change, plastic pollution or food waste, just to mention some other areas where people have gathered together to create attention on an urgent matter.
Our mission is that the full value of pollination shall be well known and that organisations, researchers, farmers, food producers and companies who engage in the issue will become estimated for their achievements.
Activities
During the annual Pollination Week members of our network arrange pollinator walks, create homes for wild bees and introduce bee friendly seed bags. There have also been Beehive Days and Honey Tastings with local beekeepers. People all over the country are taking part in different activities during the Pollination Week in May.
Through coordinated events we have developed a National campaign that grows from year to year, and in the long term will become an important and positive event for citizens to share.
To inspire and reach out to other countries we also started a homepage in English – Pollinate Europe.
Pollinate Sweden is partly funded by the National Apiculture Program in Sweden.
Founders
Pollinate Sweden is founded by Anna Lind Lind Lewin and Lotta Fabricius Kristiansen who have also been running the campaigns of the association Swedish Bees www.svenskabin.se