Intended Audience
Anyone with an interest in making their community better for bees and other pollinators. This might include gardeners, teachers, city park managers, and naturalists.
Cost
Registration is $25* per person. Pre-registration is required and space is limited.
Each participant will receive a packet of information materials, including a copy of the best-selling book, Attracting Native Pollinators.
Lunch will not be provided, please bring a lunch and refillable water bottle to the workshop.
*Scholarships are available. No application necessary.
Registration Contact
Rachel Dunham
The Xerces Society
rachel.dunham@xerces.org
Workshop Instructor Contact
Nancy Lee-Adamson
The Xerces Society
nancy.adamson@xerces.org
Reasonable Accommodations
The Xerces Society provides reasonable accommodations for special events with adequate notice. To request accommodation for events, please contact rachel.dunham@xerces.org.
The Xerces Society is an equal-opportunity provider and employer.
About the Xerces Society
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is a trusted source for science-based information and advice. We collaborate with people and institutions at all levels and our work to protect pollinators encompasses all landscapes. Our team draws together experts from the fields of habitat restoration, entomology, botany, and conservation biology with a single focus—protecting the life that sustains us. To learn more about our work, visit www.xerces.org.
Partners and Acknowledgements
This workshop is made possible with the support of the Ittleson Foundation.
A special thanks to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Monarchs Across Georgia, and UGA Extension for their collaboration and for hosting the event.
Photo Credits
Photos by Dennis Krusac, Greater Atlanta Pollinator Partnership. Red-banded hairstreak on mountain mint (banner) and common eastern bumblebee on aster (inset).
Planting for Pollinators:
Conserving Native Pollinators in Towns and Cities
State Botanical Garden of Georgia
Athens, GA
Friday, June 21st, 2019
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM EST
Please join us to learn about bees and butterflies, and what you can do to provide the habitat they need in urban and suburban gardens and greenspaces.
This workshop will open a window into the fascinating world of North America’s native bees and butterflies, introduce you to what they need, and examine the threats that make the future daunting for them. You will learn about native bee and other insect natural history, their importance to our environment and food supply, and most importantly, the straightforward steps you can take to create lasting change in our urban landscapes to better support bees and other wildlife in your community.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
Introduction to Pollinator Conservation in Urban & Suburban Spaces
Pollinator Conservation and Threats
- We'll introduce you to the importance and diversity of native pollinators, and why we should care.
- Overview of the four principal threats pollinators face: habitat loss, pesticides, diseases and nonnative species, and climate change.
Pollinator Conservation Programs in Georgia
- Share and/or learn about some of the pollinator conservation work that is happening in your community.
Natural History and Identifying Pollinators
- An introduction to the life history of pollinators, plus pointers for identifying some commonly encountered bees and butterflies.
Walk and Talk
- Let’s go outside to see what pollinators look like in real life, take a close-up look at some of them, and practice spotting good habitat—and what could be improved.
Giving Pollinators What They Need in Towns and Cities
- Where and how to improve towns and cities for pollinators by creating flower-rich habitat in urban and suburban spaces, from yards to parks—and everywhere in between.
Planning a Pollinator Garden (Group Break-out Activity)
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Participants will split up into smaller groups and work through a planning exercise. Each group will be provided with a yard or park layout and they will decide as a group how to add pollinator habitat with suggestions for plants, nesting habitat, etc.
Engaging Your Community
- Ways to broaden your efforts by engaging neighbors, friends, and others in pollinator conservation and citizen science.
INSTRUCTORS:
Nancy Lee Adamson, PhD, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society & USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Greensboro, NC. Nancy supports habitat restoration on farms and in communities in the southeast. She loves sharing her passion for native bees and plants and all the wildlife they support. She earned a PhD in entomology from Virginia Tech with research focused on native bees important for crop pollination. Along with work inventorying natural areas, collecting native seeds, propagating native plants, and restoring riparian habitat, she was a farm hand at Wheatland Vegetable Farms, taught handicapped children in Tunisia with the Peace Corps, and helped the Itzaj-Maya protect their communal forest in Petén, Guatemala.
Aimee Code, Xerces Society Pesticide Program Director. Aimee Code joined Xerces in 2013 to direct its new pesticide program. In that role, she has built a program focused on securing practices and policies that promote ecologically sound pest management. She and her staff evaluate the risks of pesticides, develop technical guidance, and advocate for actions that reduce reliance on and risks of pesticide use in both urban and agricultural settings. Aimee received her M.S. in Environmental Health with a minor in Toxicology from Oregon State University.
Heather Alley, Conservation Horticulturist at Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Heather specializes in native grasses and perennials for habitat restoration, pollinator conservation, and residential landscaping as well as endangered plants for conservation.
Jennifer Ceska, Public Service and Outreach Faculty and Conservation Coordinator for the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens. Jennifer’s specialty is creating project driven professional networks and facilitating projects for endangered species recovery. While serving as project manager for the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, she is also coordinating the Georgia Native Plant Initiative for native plant materials development, the Georgia Milkweed Initiative for ethically and locally sourced Asclepias for Monarch recovery, habitat restoration, and gardening with purpose. She and colleagues partnered to develop educational programs for schools, home gardens, public landscapes and natural areas, such as Connect to Protect, building gardens and habitats for biodiversity - for Georgia native plants and the animals that rely upon them for survival.
Sean Cameron, Education Coordinator, State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Sean helps design and implement adult environmental education programs at the garden focused on plant conservation and stewardship. Additionally, he manages long-term education series including the Certificate in Native Plants (CNP) and Plants and Pollinators Specialization (PPS). He also supports more broad environmental education and outreach programs at the garden by assisting with festivals and school field trip programming.
Susan Meyers, co-chair of the Monarchs Across Georgia (MAG) committee of the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia and Conservation Specialist for Monarch Watch. Susan volunteers full-time for monarchs and other pollinators.
Becky Griffin, Community & School Garden Coordinator for University of Georgia. Becky works with Extension agents across the state. She believes in emphasizing the ecosystem of the garden and frequently teaches workshops on beneficial entomology and integrated pest management. In 2018 Becky was part of the UGA Trees for Bees Team. She is the coordinator of the 2019 Great Georgia Pollinator Census and native bees are her passion.