Pollinator Workgroup member recognized with national award

Nancy Wittpenn, a leader in BPA’s Pollinator Workgroup, was recently awarded the 2021 Power Delivery and Utilization Technology Transfer Award for her contributions to a documentary about pollinators. The Power for Pollinators documentary was produced by the Electric Power Research Institute as part of its Power-In-Pollinators initiative.

The documentary, which BPA sponsored, showcases the commitment and effort of North American electric power companies to conserve pollinator species and habitats. The film has received many international awards since its release in 2020.

Narrated by Carrie-Anne Moss, known for her role as Trinity in “The Matrix” trilogy, the film took nearly two years to create, including a full year of filming to capture rare pollinator footage, perspectives from world-renowned scientists and bold statements by power company managers. To see all the awards and watch the 18-minute film, click here.

Wittpenn earned the award by contributing promotional video footage and pollinator habitat restoration expertise to promote the film.

“A huge congratulations and round of applause for Nancy’s hard work and well-earned achievement,” says Molly Hatfield, Sustainability program manager. This is a real testament to the growing value of and recognition for pollinator work.”

Ever so humble, Wittpenn gives credit to the Pollinator Workgroup and other BPA staff. “We have learned so much about pollinators and their habitat from each other and EPRI’s scientific staff and experts,” said Wittpenn. “We appreciate BPA’s support of these important efforts into the future.”

Wittpenn and other awardees will be recognized at a virtual ceremony in early spring.

The Power-in-Pollinators initiative is a national effort for “power companies working together to support pollinators.” BPA is a founding member and proud sponsor of this effort. Launched in 2017, the initiative is the only project designed for both power companies and pollinators, and the largest collaboration of its kind in the United States. In 2021, the combined efforts of all participating power companies during National Pollinator Week reached 2.3 million people. Learn more about EPRI’s efforts here.

For years, BPA’s Pollinator Workgroup has made great strides in bringing awareness to the importance of supporting native pollinators and their habitat in the agency’s service area. Past accomplishments include working closely with the Xerces Society to develop best management practices for transmission facilities, adapting this effort to create pollinator friendly best management practices for the Fish and Wildlife program, launching a new pollinator education page on Connection, and developing educational and interactive activities at BPA during National Pollinator Week in June.

Members of the Pollinator Workgroup are employees who are passionate about the effort – they are volunteers taking on the workload in addition to their baseline duties. For more information, see the team profile article published in June 2020.