Anna DeVolld was working in her family’s garden in Alaska one summer when she noticed four bumblebees crawling around on a sunflower. Anna realized she didn’t know why insects are attracted to some plants. “I was fascinated, and I wanted to learn more,” she says.
She soon found out that bees are a type of pollinator. Pollinators are insects, birds, and small mammals that carry pollen between plants, enabling the plants to grow fruit and reproduce.
Pollinators play a vital role in the ecosystem, keeping plants growing and soil thriving. They help produce one-third of the food humans eat. “I had no idea how much all of these species impact our daily lives,” Anna says.