Expertise affirmed: Certified Pollinator Steward at your Service!
Ecotone’s passion for buzzing, healthy ecosystems just got a big boost. In September 2025, our Founder and Lead Ecologist, Dr. Christine Thuring, received the Pollinator Steward Certification. Accreditation is earned by a rigorous course by Pollinator Partnership, the largest non-profit dedicated exclusively to pollinator conservation in the world. The Certification (and associated stamp) “shows that the individual has a science and lifecycle based understanding of pollinator needs, and understands habitat creation according to those principles.”
The direct benefit to working with Ecotone on projects include:
- informed decisions (centered on the ideal and full potential of a site)
- excellent plant lists (including our own curated seed blends)
- species-specific knowledge (both plants and pollinators)
- perspective (ranging from individual sites to meta-population considerations)
- learning by doing (being connected to a network of practitioners means we can figure things out)
- joy and positivity (we’re imbued by the joy of learning and practice, and can’t help sharing this with you!)
The certification was awarded after completing 7 workshops, and after Pollinator Partnership confirmed the Habitat and Education criteria have been met. Certification is accompanied bya high-resolution Pollinator Steward Stamp, which the Steward can attach to their work and communications. The green metallic sweat bee featured on the stamp recalls one of our favourite bees (Agapostemon subtilior), who appeared at our Point Grey meadow. What a wee beauty!
Our Lead Ecologist took the 6-week course in early 2025, and was awarded the certificate in September. In her words:
The course was excellent, in so many ways. I learned lots, and realized how much I already knew! It was deeply affirming to experience how my volunteer activities with the Native Bee Society of BC have integrated into knowledge, which is evolving into intuitive understanding. While my Native Bee Society friends assured me that (as a plant person), I knew "more than the average human", this course nurtured my understanding into confident expertise. I'm delighted to be part of this network of pollinator stewards, who are as professional as they are passionate.
Ecotone is proud to have expert practitioners delivering its projects with industry recognized accreditations. In addition to the Pollinator Steward Certification, Christine also trained as a Meadow Maker in 2023. (We’re glad she took the initiative, as that course is not offered anymore). Both courses support our commitment to enhance habitat for wildlife, effectively and with clarity of purpose and intention.
Inviting Ecotone onto a project can enhance its success. We treat wild pollinators as our primary clients, which can help to manifest the integrity of a project’s intention. Our embodied and evolving knowledge about plants and their pollinators makes for rich opportunities in storytelling, marketing and communications. Through creative problem solving, we champion regenerative principles and processes. Please get in touch to discuss your meadow project with us!
We close by expressing gratitude to all the good people in the world who express care for the biosphere. Many thanks to our friends at the BC Native Bee Society, Pollinator Partnership Canada, and Satinflower Nurseries. Thanks to Christine’s energy and consistency, we’re pleased to be in such good company! The biggest wave of gratitude goes to the wild bees and all our non-human relations who have been here since time immemorial, keeping Earth’s ecosystems functioning, wise, and beautiful.
2 thoughts on “We are Pollinator Steward Certified”
Wonderful accreditation, congratulations and well done! This knowledge and skill sets Ecotone a cut above the rest in ability to deliver multiple layers of benefit from a space.
Thank you, Jessica. I’m delighted for the opportunity to contribute to your vision of a Petal Paradise!