Abstract

The biodiversity of pollinating insects is declining at an alarming rate, largely due to urban expansion, agricultural intensification, and pesticides. Pollinators play a critical role in sustaining ecosystems, and their decline will have profound consequences for humanity resulting from ecological destabilization, reduced agricultural production, and increased economic costs. As biodiversity loss is largely driven by human behavior, understanding and addressing it requires greater attention to its human causes and solutions. This study examines pollinator conservation in Western North Carolina through the lens of conservation psychology. A regionally distributed survey investigated public attitudes towards pollinators, beliefs about their decline, and participation in conservation efforts. Findings indicated that pollinator-friendly behaviors were common among participants. Most considered the issue of pollinator decline to be extremely or very important and expressed substantial concern about the decline, particularly regarding its impact on future generations. However, familiarity with local conservation initiatives was relatively low, suggesting broad concern does not always translate into community-level engagement. Significant positive correlations were found between pollinator identification accuracy, nature connectedness, and the perceived importance of pollinator conservation, indicating a relationship between ecological knowledge, connection with the environment, and pro-conservation attitudes. These insights will help inform more effective communication and outreach strategies designed to increase community involvement and support for conservation efforts.

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