Never doubt how a small, thoughtful and committed pollinator habitat (in your garden) can change the world

Part of the 2017 Oregon Master Gardener Advanced Training Series. Pollinator populations are under stress from all sides. Be it from habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide exposure, or the spread of new diseases, pollinators face many challenges. The good news is that these damaging effects can be reversed through the retention or restoration of small bits of natural habitat. And there is particularly prominent habitat fragment that a lot of us have control over: our gardens. In this session we will dive deep into how to create pollinator habitat. What plants do you need? How do you get things established? Do you need to prepare a place for pollinators to nest? And what about host plants for butterflies? After working through some of the more common challenges with building pollinator habitat, the session will conclude by returning to what current science has to say about how your modest activities might link up and contribute to overall urban pollinator health.

Presented by: Dr. Andony Melathopoulos

Andony Melathopoulos is a new Assistant Professor who, since 2016, has been leading OSU’s efforts to design, implement and evaluate a state-wide pollinator health program. OSU’s work around pollinator health comes out of a mandate from the Oregon Legislator. Each year he provides training to over 1000 pesticide applicators on how to reduce pesticide exposure to pollinating insects, he hosts a weekly podcast on pollinator health (PolliNation) and is currently working on a number of education products designed for helping homeowners and landscapers better understand how to manage pests while minimizing impacts to pollinators. He also sits on the steering Committee of the Oregon Bee Project, which coordinates pollinator health work across state agencies. He has over fifteen years’ of experience in pollinator health extension, which includes over 30 peer-reviewed papers, speaking at industry and public meetings, writing for trade journals (over 40 articles), conducting qualitative risk assessments for government agencies and developing public education activities.  

Resources:  

• OSU's Pollinator Health Website: http://agsci.oregonstate.edu/pollinator-health/pollinator-health and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pollinatorhealth/ 

• PolliNation Podcast: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/pollinationpodcast/
  
• OSU's Pollinator Health Publications: http://agsci.oregonstate.edu/pollinator-health/pollinator-publications (mobile app link is here)
  
• Book recommendation: The Bees in Your Backyard - http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10593.html 
  
• The Oregon Bee Project: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/beeproject/
  

Photo credit: flic.kr/p/6EhG5W CC BY-NC_ND 2.0

https://youtu.be/DQ9N58bGuOk