Our Story
It started with a walk past an empty lot.
Project Pollinator began as one student's observation about his own city — and grew into a nonprofit working to restore native habitat, block by block.
Where others saw neglect, Sito saw habitat
Ivan "Sito" Rodriguez is a student at East High School in Columbus, Ohio. Before Project Pollinator had a name, it was a moment: walking with his father, he noticed a vacant lot on the city's west side and did not see only abandoned land. He imagined a place where native plants and insects could thrive.
That imagination became an environmental initiative called Pollinated by You! — a proposal to create small reserves of native habitat in empty lots, highway medians, and other overlooked pockets of the city.
In 2026, the National Geographic Society recognized Ivan as a Significant Achievement Award recipient in its Slingshot Challenge. The award included $1,000, which he used as seed funding to establish a nonprofit organization. With support from adult mentors — including East High School teacher Carl Holtman — Sito translated his vision into a formally incorporated organization.
Project Pollinator was established in June 2026 and received its IRS determination letter on July 15, 2026, recognizing tax exemption effective June 4, 2026. Sito leads the organization as Founder and President. The adults around him provide mentorship, administrative support, and connections; they do not claim ownership of his idea.
Two problems that usually get separate conversations — declining pollinators and neglected urban land — are treated here as one solution. Plant native species in forgotten corners, and both begin to recover.
Founder and President
Ivan "Sito" Rodriguez
Student, East High School · Columbus, Ohio
2026 National Geographic Slingshot Challenge, Significant Achievement Award
Founding Timeline
From an idea to an organization
No step here happened by accident: each one was a decision to take the idea seriously.
The walk
A vacant lot on Columbus's west side
On an outing with his father, Sito passed a neglected lot and imagined native plants and insects thriving there instead of abandoned ground.
2026
"Pollinated by You!" earns national recognition
Sito entered the National Geographic Slingshot Challenge with a plan for urban insect reserves in empty lots and unused strips. The entry received a Significant Achievement Award and a $1,000 award.
June 2026
Project Pollinator is established
With adult mentors helping with formation and administration, the idea became an Ohio nonprofit corporation with founding officers and a public charitable purpose.
July 15, 2026
IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity
The IRS issued a determination letter recognizing federal tax exemption effective June 4, 2026, under IRC Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi).
Next
First garden sites near East High School
The organization is identifying its first sites, confirming ownership and written permission, and selecting native plants suited to each location.
Governance
Founding officers
Project Pollinator is governed by its founding officers, with Sito as its visionary leader.
Ivan "Sito" Rodriguez
Founder and President
Student, East High School
Julian Iseghohi
Founding Secretary
Carl Holtman
Founding Treasurer and Adult Mentor
Teacher, East High School
Project Pollinator is an independent nonprofit organization founded by an East High School student. It is not owned, sponsored, or operated by Columbus City Schools, the National Geographic Society, Ohio State University, or any other institution. See nonprofit transparency details.
A bumblebee at work — the kind of moment that connects field science to community gardens.
The Mentor Behind the Paperwork
A decade keeping pollinator science running
Carl Holtman, Project Pollinator's founding treasurer, brought nonprofit formation and administration experience to the organization. He also brought something less expected: an appreciation for pollinator research developed while managing operations for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in Greece.
For more than a decade, Carl handled logistics, operations, and risk for an eight-week summer program that moved from the University of Central Oklahoma to seven weeks of fieldwork on the island of Lesvos. When the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey upended the program's dual-country setup, he helped transition operations entirely to Greece in 2017. He was not a researcher — but a decade surrounded by pollinator science left a lasting impression, and he now photographs the insects that first caught his attention.
That background is Carl's own history. The National Science Foundation does not fund Project Pollinator. What Carl offers here is mentorship, administration, and a genuine interest in the science behind the gardens.
In His Own Words
The original Slingshot Challenge video
Sito's award-winning entry, in which he pitches urban insect reserves in empty lots and highway medians.
Video opens on YouTube if it does not load here — watch directly.
Every garden starts with one person noticing
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