Roots and Wings: Exploring Massachusetts Attitudes Toward Native Plants and Pollinators

Presenter: Maxwell Tyler Passarelli

Faculty Sponsor: Anne Armstrong

School: Worcester State University

Research Area: Environmental Science and Sustainability

Session: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM, Auditorium, A43

ABSTRACT

Both pollinators and native plants are key components of ecosystems, but both are threatened by habitat loss and degradation due to widespread agriculture and urbanization. These vital and interconnected components of the biosphere are dependent on each other, and also on human behavior. We studied how Massachusetts residents feel about native plants and pollinators. We created a survey to assess native plant and pollinator attitudes using semantic differentials and Likert-type items. The survey was uploaded to Amazon Mechanical Turk and circulated by the Massachusetts Pollinator Network and Worcester Native Plant Initiative. The results suggest Young Adults show high interest and willingness to engage with native planting and pollinator support. Overall, Massachusetts residents tend to have favorable views of native plants and pollinators. In fact, we found young audults in particular show a willingness to engage with volunteer efforts in their respective communities. This data can be shared with conversation-focused non-profit organizations to help them target the outreach efforts.

RELATED ABSTRACTS