Our Commitment to Texas’ Pollinators
Without pollinators, Texans wouldn’t have many of the foods we eat every day, including avocados, almonds, berries, and more! In fact, the USDA estimates that increased crop production due to pollinators is valued at over $9 billion per year in the US alone. Considering the critical role pollinators play, H-E-B is committed to supporting organizations that protect this vital part of our food chain.
What’s a pollinator? Any animal or insect that moves pollen from the male parts of a flower to the female parts, which helps plants reproduce & grow more food. Pollinator species include:
- Bees
- Wasps
- Moths
- Flies
- Birds
- Bats
- Beetles
- Small mammals
Meet H-E-B’s Pollinator Partners
Also, check our Events Calendar for pollinator events & programs happening near you!
- Pollinators & Prairies
Pollinators & Prairies is dedicated to conserving Texas’ vital native pollinators and iconic grasslands through:
- Educational outreach
- Prairie restoration and conservation
- Native bee research
- National Wildlife Federation: Monarch Heroes
Monarch Heroes is the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) monarch butterfly recovery education program for PreK-12th grade students.
Since 2002, H-E-B has partnered with NWF to bring Monarch Heroes to over 260 schools across the Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio metro areas. So far, Monarch Heroes has:
- Worked with over 25,000 students and 700 teachers
- Created over 80,000 square feet of monarch gardens on Texas school grounds
Since 2022, H-E-B has donated almost $750,000 to NWF to support environmental education in Texas; almost $625,000 of this has benefited Monarch Heroes.
Want Monarch Heroes to come to your child’s school? click here to learn more!
Project Bloom creates free nature-based educational experiences for communities, classrooms, teachers, and students. H-E-B proudly sponsors both Project Bloom’s annual San Antonio Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival and Caterpillar Condos for Classrooms program.
During monthlong Caterpillar Condos for Classrooms programs, students:
- Observe the metamorphosis of a live Monarch Butterfly from caterpillar form in a Caterpillar Condo (which comes with a milkweed plant) in their classroom
- Learn from a TEKS-aligned curriculum, including a digital Monarch Journal and four video lessons
- Tag and release their butterflies in a citizen science project
Founded by the owner of Austin-based Me & the Bees honey-sweetened lemonades, the Healthy Hive Foundation’s goals are to:
- Educate families and businesses about the importance of bees
- Fundraise to support both beekeepers and scientific research to protect bees and their habitats
H-E-B has partnered with the Texas Master Naturalist Program to provide grants of up to $3,000 for the Pollinators for Texas initiative. Click here learn more about these grants.
- Projects that develop and expand conservation habitats
- Outreach programs that focus on native pollinators and pollinator habitat conservation
Many Texas pollinators rely on native plants to survive, and the plants rely on the pollinators to help them reproduce, making the protection of both vital to Texas’ environment. The Native Plant Society of Texas promotes conservation and research on Texas’ native plants & plant habitats: Their volunteers educate Texans on caring for the specific native plants in their community.
