From the Capitol Hill bill on “Schoolhouse Rock” to Dora the Explorer to Daniel Tiger, cartoon concepts, kids, and critters have been teaching children important lessons for decades. Up next? The premiere of “Pollinator Superheroes,” created by the National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC) and its partners. The pilot in this animated series tells the story of 10-year-old-Nate, who teams up with a crew of pollinators to save their habitat from being displaced by a housing development. NPSEC is develop- ing the series for Native American elementary students in Nebraska and Oklahoma—not only to inspire them to identify and protect bees, bats, and butterflies but to reinforce to them that their actions, cultures, and native languages (to appear in subtitles) matter. Animated series encourages preservation of pollinators and Pawnee culture. Pol en P wer l
Nate (second from left) is the main character in “Pollinator Superheroes.” His cat, Buffalo (far left), is named to honor an important animal in indigenous culture. The pollinator superheroes are (starting top left) Bee (also pictured on opposite page), Monarch, Bat, and Hover Fly—all of whom have powers that are enhancements of their natural abilities.
“Our characters’ superpowers are enhancements of their natural abilities,” says Kara Maddox, creative director for communications at NPSEC, and one of the series creators. “We hope these stories will help our viewers feel the power in their own characteristics and abilities.” While pollinators in the United States are threatened by loss of habitat and pesticide misuse, the tribal nations of Oklahoma and Nebraska have faced even more dire ex- istential threats. In the early nineteenth century, the Pawnee population (comprising four distinct bands) was estimated to be 20,000 to 25,000. War, disease, colonization, and relocation had decimated the population to between 600 and 700 by the beginning of the twentieth century. When a population begins to disappear, so do its customs, knowl- edge, and language. This dual-purpose NPSEC project supports the Extension missions of environmental steward- ship and prioritizing underserved communities.
For this project, which started about three years ago, NPSEC collaborated with • two tribal colleges and Prairie View A&M University, to ensure the series pilot was culturally and linguistically accurate; • a curator at the St. Louis Zoo, an entomologist, and Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) Coordina- tor Jennifer Weisbrod, who consulted on the story and informed how the pollinators were depicted; and
• a creative team, which brought the story to life.
Education Partners
Faculty and students from the tribal colleges—Pawnee Na- tion College and Nebraska Indian Community College— helped the “Pollinator Superheroes” team make choices about characters and dialogue that, when appropriate, authentically reflected the culture of the indigenous students who will be watching the series. “For example, an indigenous character in the original script used the term ‘res’ as shorthand for ‘reservation,’” Maddox said. “While some students said it made the dialogue feel more relatable, the consensus was that it was better to take it out, because it has a demeaning connotation.” And Buffalo the cat delivers Native American wisdom that asks the other characters to question their beliefs about what’s “good” and what’s “bad.” ➤
Powerful Partnerships
As one of two pesticide safety-related projects in the 2022-2023 New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) grant year, (see page 56) “Pollinator Superheroes” adds to the growing trend of Extension teams using multimedia to engage and educate the public. (Read about NPSEC’s 2019 “Mass Media: Sustaining Pollinators” campaign, also an NTAE-funded project.) The process of developing the pilot episode is a model that Extension organizations can follow to choose partners and assemble creative teams to produce content.
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EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE | 2022-2023 YEARBOOK
2022-2023 YEARBOOK | EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE
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