As farmers across Vermont plan for the season to come, a collaboration of pollinator researchers, policy experts, and farmers also plan to expand their work to protect pollinators this year, as a new agricultural law goes into effect.
In 2025, the Apis Fund, managed by the Gund Institute for Environment, will support two projects: outreach and policy efforts by the (VPWG) and maintenance of the Votey and Lafayette pollinator gardens on the ̽̽ campus.
The VPWG has researched the effects of pesticides on pollinators across Vermont, particularly neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides that harm pollinators. The VPWG provided key expertise for Vermont lawmakers regarding the impacts of neonicotinoid-treated seeds on pollinators as they considered legislation banning the use of seeds treated with these pesticides. The law will soon take effect.
“When we launched the Vermont Pollinator Working Group with five organizations, they accomplished a lot,” Gund Affiliate and project Principal Investigator Samantha Alger recalls. “And we realized that there was good momentum behind our initiatives; the initiatives have grown to the point that there are new projects on the horizon. The VPWG will remain a cohesive collaboration, advancing the next steps in these initiatives.”
This year, the working group will take a two-pronged approach. First, the VPWG will continue its policy work, providing expertise as the neonicotinoid law is implemented. Second, the VPWG will both guide and learn from farmers during the transition away from neonicotinoid-treated seeds. The group will monitor and disseminate data on pesticide exposure among pollinators as this transition occurs.
“We are tremendously proud of all of the initiatives that have grown out of the Apis Fund,” said Gund Institute Director Taylor Ricketts. “Most recently, an Apis Fund grant launched the Vermont Pollinator Working Group, whose work has already been impactful in protecting pollinators across Vermont. By partnering with farmers, the VPWG is providing practical support to farmers and scientific input to policymakers to protect pollinators and their contributions to Vermont’s food system. Within two years, this grant has led to the formation of the Working Group, a growing campaign to help farmers know their key pollinators, and a successful effort to ban the most damaging pesticides in Vermont (bill passed by VT legislature in 2024). The Apis Fund support has been matched so far at least 1:1 by the One Hive Foundation and has leveraged the time and efforts of experts and activists across the state.”
Alger notes that the diversity of expertise and experience among members of the VPWG is the backbone of its efforts; legal expertise from VPWG member organization Conservation Law Foundation is essential to navigating the legislative process, while pollinator experts from ̽̽, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and the Xerces Society provide needed biological and ecological information about pollinators.
Alger understands the concerns of farmers who are losing a tool they’ve previously had to grow their crops, and whose livelihoods depend on good crop production. Alger also notes that the scientific literature—and the experiences of Quebecois farmers who made the same change in 2019—show that using neonic-free seed does not harm production.
Thus, Alger says, farmers who agree to be “early adopters” of the untreated seeds, watching the effects of the law unfold in real time, are an essential part of creating this systemic change.
The VPWG will work to help these early adopters, “to ensure these farmers feel supported throughout that process, by providing the resources to get them started, and then by making available all of the data that they would like to see.” These farmers’ experiences will provide a template for others to follow, she says, adding, “The data, the science, say this change is the right choice. But farmers are going to listen to other farmers.”
The second Apis Fund project is a $5,000 grant to maintain the Votey and Lafayette gardens. These recently established campus gardens, designated as pollinator-focused in 2024, will support native pollinators in Burlington and serve as educational examples for students, staff, and passersby to learn how to provide a helping hand to nature, even in a small space.
“We've gotten a huge amount of interest in pollinator gardens in the last couple of years, as ̽̽’s academic programs in landscape sustainability have grown,” says ̽̽ Office of Sustainability Interim Director Caylin McCamp. “And I think we need to be creating these moments of cognitive resonance for our students. They walk out of a classroom, where they're learning about great innovations and best practices to create a sustainable world, and they see those practices at work on the campus where they’re living.”
The fund will allow students to work on maintaining the gardens, gaining hands-on experience while addressing a key university goal.
“There's a goal in ̽̽’s Comprehensive Sustainability Plan to increase native and sustainable plants on campus,” McCamp says. “This grant will help us advance that goal and continue to use campus as a living laboratory for sustainability practices.”
About the Apis Fund for Pollinator Health
Building on ̽̽’s leadership in pollination research, the Apis Fund was established with a $500,000 lead gift to create an endowment that supports the study and conservation of pollinators. The Apis Fund catalyzes projects that support wild and managed bees, which are essential to the world’s food supply but are experiencing steep declines from climate change, disease, and pesticides. The fund supports projects by Vermont-based organizations working in North and Central America.
The most recent Apis Fund grant laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Vermont Pollinator Working Group’s collaboration with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies to create a series of pollinator guides for Vermont farmers. The “Know Your Five” pamphlets offer ways to support wild pollinators that support crop production across the state.
Eight teams have received Apis Fund support since launch, including ̽̽ faculty, students, and non-profit organizations. The Apis Fund has supported research on how bees improve coffee quality, the first statewide online database of Vermont’s bees, enhanced honey prices and bee-friendly practices in Mexico, a new ̽̽ pollinator garden guided by science-based best practices, and art installations highlighting the plight of threatened bee species.
Named after the scientific name for honeybees, the Apis Fund projects are evaluated on a range of criteria, including potential benefits for pollinators, collaboration, strength and novelty of the overall project, impact on awareness and understanding of pollinators, and leverage with other resources.
Since 2017, Gund research funding programs have provided nearly $1.4 million in startup funds, supporting over 40 innovative projects and nearly 140 ̽̽ scholars with over 130 external partners. These programs have generated over $20M in external funds, a 29-to-1 return on investment, and inspired real world action.
