The loss of pollinators in California affects both agricultural and natural ecosystems, and due to a combination of habitat destruction, pesticides, disease and climate change, the population has dramatically declined.
"A lot of our crops depend on pollination and there's been a really severe decline in habit for those pollinators," said Molly Taylor, Climate Smart Agriculture Program Manager, at the Community Environmental Council – one of the partners in receiving a nearly $2 million grant to boost pollinator habitat on agricultural lands along California’s Central Coast.
"We are trying to provide the habitat necessary for their survival, like a hedgerow or a riparian forest buffer," she said.
Farmers and ranchers can apply for up to $200,000 to plant and maintain pollinator habitats.
