ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Conservation Social Sciences
Disentangling Public Perceptions to Pave the Way for Pollinator-Friendly Roadsides
Provisionally accepted
Laura A. Warner*
Cody Gusto
Sravani Pasula
Jaret Daniels
Anissa MattoxSydney Honeycutt
Ricky TelgAngie Lindsey- University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
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Considering rapid urbanization and land use changes resulting in extensive road coverage, roadsides have been recognized as critical landscapes that can be supportive of biodiversity. However, adequate audience analyses needed to inform impactful public initiatives that benefit pollinators have not been conducted. This initial, descriptive audience analysis research was conducted to inform future communication campaigns that increase public support for pollinator friendly roadsides by documenting: 1) knowledge; 2) perceptions; 3) concerns; and 4) information-seeking preferences regarding pollinator-friendly roadsides. Using quota sampling, we gathered this information from 1,011 Floridians and used descriptive statistics to quantify the findings. While perceived and actual knowledge pertaining to pollinator-friendly roadsides were fairly high, findings revealed varying positive and negative perceptions of pollinator-friendly roadsides. Ecological and environmental elements were ranked as the most important characteristics, while perceived safety issues and increased expenses were the most substantial concerns. Educational communications must emphasize these important elements while addressing concerns and correcting misperceptions. Respondents preferred immersive communications embedded along their journey, such as demonstration gardens at rest stops or road signage, and favored social media, especially YouTube, to learn about pollinator-friendly roadsides. Communications should be designed to provide an immersive educational experience for drivers and passengers as well as offering a digital twin to mirror this experience through online videos. Significant opportunities remain to conduct message testing and behavioral theory-based research to uncover ways to increase public support for pollinator-friendly roadsides.
Keywords: Pollinator-friendly roadsides, urban biodiversity, Public perceptions, Audienceanalysis, conservation communication, environmental attitudes, Roadside habitatmanagement, Information-seeking preferences
Received: 26 Aug 2025; Accepted: 04 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Warner, Gusto, Pasula, Daniels, Mattox, Honeycutt, Telg and Lindsey. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Laura A. Warner, lsanagorski@ufl.edu
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