“Supporting Florida Farms” emerges as most persuasive message for pollinator-friendly roadside advocacy
image: Strategic message framing significantly improved public attitudes toward pollinator-friendly roadsides. The “Supporting Florida Farms” frame was most effective, especially among those with moderately positive initial attitudes, suggesting that value-based communication can enhance support for biodiversity initiatives.
Credit: Laura A., Warner, Sravani Pasula, Jaret Daniels, Jeremy Rhoden, and Sadie Hundemer.
Date: June 4, 2026
Gainesville, USA: Global pollinator decline threatens 40% of bee and butterfly species and underpins $24 billion in annual U.S. agricultural productivity. While America’s 17 million acres of roadsides represent untapped linear habitat for pollinators, public opposition to reduced mowing and native vegetation often blocks implementation of pollinator-friendly management practices.
Published in Biological Diversity and funded by the Disney Conservation Fund, this randomized controlled study tested five social media-style message frames against a control group to measure impacts on public attitudes and behavioral intent, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Respondents were randomly assigned to view graphics highlighting either agricultural support, food chain security, pollinator protection, biodiversity, or scenic beauty.
Results showed four of the five frames significantly improved positive attitudes toward pollinator-friendly roadsides. The “Supporting Florida Farms” frame—emphasizing pollinators’ role in sustaining local agriculture—delivered the largest attitudinal gains, followed by “Fueling our Food Chain,” “Biodiversity in Bloom,” and “Taking the Scenic Route.” The generic “Protecting Pollinators” frame showed no significant effect compared to the control.
Message exposure increased respondents’ likelihood to vote for pollinator-friendly roadside policies, view informational signage at rest stops, and accept native wildflower seed packets. However, single-exposure messages did not influence social norms or perceived behavioral control, indicating repeated, targeted outreach is needed to address these barriers.
“Connecting roadside conservation to tangible human benefits—especially supporting local farmers—resonates far more than generic environmental appeals,” said lead author Dr. Laura A. Warner. “These findings provide transportation agencies and conservation groups with evidence-based messaging to build public support for critical pollinator habitat restoration.”
Original Source
Warner, Laura A., Sravani Pasula, Jaret Daniels, Jeremy Rhoden, and Sadie Hundemer. 2025. “Driving Change: Persuading Roadway Users to Support Pollinator-Friendly Roadsides through Strategic Environmental Communication.” Biological Diversity 2(2-3): 119–138.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bod2.70010
Keywords
message framing, message testing, pollinator‐friendly roadsides, public biodiversity stewardship, public perceptions, theory of planned behavior
About the Author
Laura A. Warner (First author and corresponding author), Ed.D, Associate Professor, University of Florida. Her research interests cover program planning and evaluation, behavior change and social marketing, pollinator conservation initiatives, and the routes and barriers to the adoption of water conservation and water quality protection innovations at the household level. She focuses on translating behavioral theory into actionable practices and conducts in-depth research on the human dimensions in the dissemination of best practices.
She has published more than 264 academic papers, with 53,337 total reads, 1,686 total citations, and an H-index of 19.
ResearchGate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Warner-2
About the Journal
Biological Diversity (ISSN: 2994-4139) is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal sponsored by the South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and published in partnership with Wiley. Launched in 2024 and issued quarterly, it is dedicated to advancing biodiversity conservation, safeguarding ecosystem functions and services, and promoting the sustainable utilization of biological resources under global environmental change. The journal welcomes original research, reviews, commentaries, and short communications across a broad spectrum of disciplines, including botany, zoology, microbiology, taxonomy, phylogenetics, genomics, cytology, ecology, climatology, economics, sociology, and real-time policy theory. It publishes innovative research addressing pressing global challenges of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.