The National Honey Board and The Pollinator Partnership Team Up On Caribbean Bee Rescue Campaign

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The National Honey Board and The Pollinator Partnership are partnering to save some of the planet’s most important pollinators through the Caribbean Bee Rescue Campaign. Caribbean beekeepers suffered grave colony losses as a direct result of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, which destroyed a majority of the wooden hives used to house the bees. Those beekeepers with surviving colonies have struggled to provide the insects with food since the islands have been stripped of the flora that has typically sustained the pollinators. These challenges have made it difficult to raise healthy colonies that are needed to pollinate the islands’ crops and create honey.

In order to mitigate the impact of the storms, The Pollinator Partnership and its 17 partner organizations, including the National Honey Board, have set a goal to raise $50,000 for this initiative. The $50,000 will go towards the delivery of supplemental protein for 3,000 hives as well as the delivery of 1,000 replacement hives over the next six months.

“Hurricanes Maria and Irma completely changed the landscape of beekeeping in the Caribbean,” said Margaret Lombard, CEO of the National Honey Board. “By working with The Pollinator Partnership, we can make a significant difference in the lives of beekeepers fighting to save these important pollinators and continue harvesting honey.”  

"The self-initiative and determination of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island beekeepers combined with the solidarity and generous support being shown by donors leads us to have a hopeful outlook,” says Tugrul Giray, professor and Coordinator of Apiculture Industry at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, in San Juan.  “We believe that with this support we will be able to remedy the immediate critical situation being faced by beekeepers, bees and other pollinators as well as looking forward to building a healthy future for pollinators in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

For more information on the National Honey Board and The Pollinator Partnership, please visit www.honey.com and www.pollinator.org.

About National Honey Board

The National Honey Board (NHB) is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumers about the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs. The Board’s work, funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, is designed to increase the awareness and usage of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers. The ten-member-Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represents producers (beekeepers), packers, importers and a marketing cooperative. For more information, visit www.honey.com.

About The Pollinator Partnership (P2) 

Established in 1997, P2, a 501(c)3 headquartered in San Francisco, California, was incorporated in 1997.  P2’s mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research.  Visit www.pollinator.org for more information. 


Name: Jessica Schindler

Phone: (303)776-2337

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