Saving the Bees

This teen is raising awareness about the importance of a crucial link in our food chain.

March 2023

By Joshua Alston

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

WHO: Anna DeVolld

WHERE: Soldotna, Alaska

HEROIC ACT: Fighting to protect the pollinators that help grow our food

Many flowers attract pollinators.

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.

But threats including pesticides, viruses, and climate change are endangering pollinators. Up to 40 percent of some types of pollinators face extinction in coming years. Horrified by that prospect, the 17-year-old became determined to try to help save them.

Anna launched a program called Promote Our Pollinators (P.O.P.) to raise awareness about her cause. She created a flyer for adults and a coloring book with educational games for children. She distributed them to local schools and businesses.

Next she created “Pollinator Packs,” which are pots containing pollinator-friendly seedlings from plants native to Alaska. She’s given more than 2,000 packs to local businesses and organizations to increase the pollinator population in urban areas.

Anna also gives presentations in schools and community centers. She even developed an online curriculum about pollinators for elementary schools to use during Covid-19.

Next fall, Anna will be heading to college, but she plans to continue her work with P.O.P. She hopes to spread the word about the importance of pollinators throughout Alaska and beyond.

In addition to protecting the butterflies and bees and the flowers they help grow, Anna wants to inspire teens to advocate for causes they believe in. “I started out thinking it was going to be this super-serious thing,” she says, “only to find out how much I enjoyed it.”