One of the great things about invertebrate conservation is that it only takes one person and a little bit of habitat space to help a whole lot of bugs. Yet we know there are bigger challenges for the planet beyond our backyards — like climate change, clean water, or protecting monarch butterflies across their enormous range — that are only going to be solved by working together.

In the practical sense, building our conservation community can help us share ideas and resources, and tackle bigger, more ambitious projects. Yet perhaps even more importantly, community gives us a sense of belonging, support and hope that lightens the load and keeps us coming back to the causes we care about.

This Earth Week, our staff at the Xerces Society have come up with many ideas to grow your conservation community, and have fun along the way! 

Grab a friend

One of the easiest ways to build your conservation community is by inviting your existing friends, families, and neighbors to join you for Earth Week activities.

• Go bug-watching! Caring for nature starts with meeting some of the wildlife you can help protect. Whether you take a hike in a state park, or a stroll near your home, there are invertebrates living almost everywhere, especially if you remember to “think small” and peek under rocks and logs. Grab a field guide from your local library or bookstore (or an app like iNaturalist) and see what cool bugs you and your friends can find! (Is the weather lousy? Try your local natural history museum instead.)
• Garden together. Gardening is a great chance to share your knowledge of what we can do for pollinators! Trade yard work with your neighbors, or volunteer together at a school or community garden.
• Collect and share seeds. One of the many great things about native wildflowers is that their seeds will also sprout easily in your climate. So with a little planning, you and your friends can all expand your gardens for free! Now is the chance to ask your friends what native plants they have (or pass by on a walk), and mark your calendars to collect wildflower seeds once they are ready later in the year. A seed-exchange is a perfect chance to get together with friends.
• Pick up trash. An Earth Day classic! Public parks and waterways are always in need of a few helping hands to pick up trash. Look for a cleanup event nearby, or just bring a trash bag and some gloves on your next walk. Make it a contest to help keep kids engaged!
• Team up for easier recycling. Many of us have items that need special recycling, like used batteries, old electronics, and expired medications. No need to deal with it alone — invite a friend to join you for the trip to the drop-off site. It’s motivation for both of you to do something you might have been putting off, and a great excuse to celebrate together afterwards.
• Share a repair! Few of us can fix everything, but that’s not a problem! You can keep repairable items out of the landfill by coordinating a skill exchange with your friends. Whether that’s patching a favorite item of clothing, cleaning and sharpening tools, or patching a flat tire, you probably have a special skill to share.
• Spring clean for nature. If you’re feeling cluttered, use that energy to make a difference for conservation. A garage sale can be a great way to meet members of your neighborhood, or you can go with friends to donate items to a local charity. If you do make some money, why not donate some or all of the proceeds to your favorite conservation cause? (We’ll be pretty stoked if you choose to support Xerces.)
• Call your representatives. Whether it’s city council, state legislature or Congress, let your representatives know conservation is important to you. Not a fan of phone conversations? Call in the evenings or on the weekends and leave a message — it still counts!
• Take a date to a plant nursery. Plant nurseries are a great place to stroll and catch up, plus a chance to pick up some native wildflowers to support pollinators. Taking a friend is a good excuse to visit somewhere new — you can check with your local conservation district or native plant club for special spring sales!

Find your allies

Looking to expand your network of nature-loving friends? Here are some of our favorite ways to find and connect with like-minded people for conservation activities.

• Connect with invertebrate enthusiasts on the web. Whether you’re looking for folks to help identify a new bug, or to share entomology and conservation memes, online communities on Reddit, Facebook, Bluesky, Discord, and other social platforms have got you covered. You’ll even find many invertebrate scientists and conservation professionals there, too!
• Volunteer for public lands. Public lands are there for everyone’s benefit, and they rely on us to keep them going. Volunteers of all kinds are welcome, for everything from removing invasive species to guiding visitors. Check Contact your favorite park to see if they have community work days or other opportunities.
• Join or start a Buy Nothing community. You know what’s an even bigger flex than recycling? Reusing, which doesn’t use new energy. Save your wallet and the planet by joining the “gift economy”.
• Join a community science project. With community science, you can be part of real conservation research — and connect with your fellow scientists! Don’t worry, no PhD needed; just a smartphone, your curiosity, and some time to get outdoors. While some community science projects can be done solo (like Bumble Bee Watch), others are best as group activities (like Bumble Bee Atlas and Firefly Atlas). If you’re new to community science, another easy way to start is to join an iNaturalist project, like a local BioBlitz or City Nature Challenge. You’ll find a community of people with the same interests and/or location, with no need for scheduling!

Be a community leader

Do you have a vision to share for a greener community? It can feel intimidating (or exhilarating!) to take charge, but you don’t have to do it alone.

• Volunteer at a school. Inspire the next generation this Earth Week by volunteering to read a book, help with a school garden, or lead a lesson activity like X-Kids.
• Organize a community cleanup. Rally together for a park, stream, or other public space in need. You can use your community center, local Facebook group, or other network to gather folks and plan — it can be as simple as everyone showing up with a trash bag and gloves for an afternoon. If you want to make a bigger push, try advertising your event with local media outlets, or the Great Global Cleanup.
• Talk to your plant nursery about bee-safe plants. You’ll learn more about a local business, and, with any luck, you may be able to spark a change in their practices that helps pollinators in gardens all across your community.
• Build a pollinator garden for your community. Many places would be happy to have a patch of native wildflowers for pollinators, and just need someone to make it happen. Reach out to your local park, school, or even your business and ask if they’d be up for setting aside a small space for nature. If there is a Bee City or Bee Campus USA in town, be sure to connect with them, as they’ll have plenty of help. And remember, your new garden doesn’t need to be fancy or huge — every bit of pesticide-free habitat matters!
• Start a new Bee City or Bee Campus USA. Lead the charge for your community to join a network of more than 400 cities and campuses that are making the world safer for pollinators by adding high-quality habitat and reducing pesticides. You’ll find resources on how to start a new chapter on their website!
• Start a local community science project. Help your community discover all of the wonderful wildlife in their backyards by organizing a BioBlitz: a weekend- or week-long event where everyone tries to find as much wildlife as possible and add it to an iNaturalist project. Not only does everyone get a chance to appreciate nature, but all of the data you collect will help inform conservation efforts. Reach out to your local museum, botanical garden, library, or other community organization and see if you can work together to get more people involved!
• Give out native plant seeds! Often, all people need to start helping pollinators is a pack of seeds and some instructions on how to plant them. You can be the spark that gets them going. Gather the right native plant seeds for your region (whether from a retailer, or collecting them from local plants), print out some simple tips, and assemble little seed packs. You can hand out seeds at community events, or even just post up flyers with seed packets available to take. Recruit friends and neighbors to share the costs and assembly work for an even bigger impact.