[Pollinator] Interested in Pollinator Conservation? Training Courses Coming to the South in 2012

[Scott Black]

 <http://www.southernsare.org/>
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Interested in Pollinator Conservation? Training Courses Coming to the South
in 2012 


cid:image003.png at 01CC6634.9C541370

Eric Mader (right) teaches a pollinator conservation course. Photo credit:
Mandy Rodrigues, SARE Outreach

Candace Pollock (cpollock at uga.edu)

http://www.southernsare.org/News-and-Media/Press-Releases/Interested-in-Poll
inator-Conservation-Training-Courses-Coming-to-the-South-in-2012

08/29/2011

GRIFFIN, Ga. - Farmers, Extension agents, Federal and state farm agency
personnel, and others interested in pollinator conservation will have the
opportunity to attend training programs throughout the Southern region
beginning in 2012.

The Xerces Society, a non-profit invertebrate conservation organization, has
received funding from the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
(SARE) program to develop and conduct pollinator conservation planning short
courses throughout the country. The short courses will be coming to the
South next year with the primary focus on native bee conservation.

"There are 4,000 species of native bees in North America, from small
solitary mining bees to large and highly social bumble bees, all of which
can be important pollinators for agriculture," said Eric Mader, assistant
pollinator program director for The Xerces Society. "With their numbers
declining, just like the honey bee, it's important that people are educated
in identifying these bees and taking measures to try and conserve their
populations and protect their habitats."

The states tentatively scheduled for the 2012 pollinator short courses
include North Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and Virginia,
with the remaining states in the Southern region being covered in 2013. For
now, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not on the list.

The pollinator short courses are comprehensive one-day training programs
tailored to Extension agents, Natural Resources Conservation Service
personnel, Soil and Water Conservation District specialists, and state ag
agencies. The program is also targeted to farmers, crop consultants,
non-governmental conservation organization staff, and others interested in
pollinator conservation.

Attendees get a crash course in basic bee field identification, pollinator
biology and habitat requirements, habitat restoration, bee-friendly farm
management practices, and incorporating pollinator conservation into federal
conservation programs. Attendees also receive take-home resources, including
the Xerces Society's guide, Attracting Native Pollinators.

The Xerces Society developed the short course curriculum in 2008 and test
piloted it in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. Since then, the pollinator
short courses have been attended by over 1,200 people in 23 states across
the country and have received overwhelming positive responses.

"In every case, the courses have exceeded our expectations. There has been
such great demand to attend the courses that we've leveraged funds from
other sources to increase the number of courses we offer in many states,"
said Mader.

bee on sunflower

Bumblebees on a sunflower. Photo credit: Eric Mader

Mader estimates that the average participant has influenced about 100 acres
of farmland to benefit pollinators by simply changing practices, such as
mitigating the effects of pesticides, improving mowing practices, or
increasing flower diversity and nest sites.

Mader believes that the short courses have been successful, in part, because
they focus on wildlife nearly all are familiar with, and the conservation
efforts can have a direct impact.

"Bees are tangible. They are something that people can see and relate to, as
opposed to topics like climate change, which can be very intangible," said
Mader. "In addition, you can see the results of conservation efforts. The
more invested one becomes, the more you directly see the results."

Pollinator conservation not only protects bees, but it also has wider
benefits for other wildlife and the environment, said Mader.

"By creating habitat for bees, you are also benefiting other beneficial
insects -including those that attack crop pests. Pollinator habitat can also
be incorporated into buffer systems that protect soil and water, and support
other wildlife such as game and songbirds," said Mader. "The conservation
impact has a much broader reach than one may realize."

For more information on The Xerces Society, log on to http://www.xerces.org.
For more information on upcoming pollinator conservation planning short
courses, contact Eric Mader at eric at xerces.org, or stay tuned to our website
for additional information as it becomes available.

--30--

Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and
Agriculture <http://www.csrees.usda.gov/>  (NIFA), Southern SARE operates
under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia
<http://www.caes.uga.edu/> , Fort Valley State University
<http://www.ag.fvsu.edu/> , and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
<http://www.kerrcenter.com/>  to offer competitive grants to advance
sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region. 

 

 

_______

 

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

1971 - 2011: Forty Years of Conservation!

 

We have moved!

628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA

 <https://webmail.integra.net/src/compose.php?send_to=sblack%40xerces.org>
sblack at xerces.org

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 101

Toll free: 1-855-232-6639 ext. 101

Cell: (503) 449-3792

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.

 

To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please
visit  <http://www.xerces.org> www.xerces.org.

 

NEW BOOK NOW AVAILABLE:

 
<http://www.xerces.org/announcing-the-publication-of-attracting-native-polli
nators/> Attracting Native Pollinators. Protecting North America's Bees and
Butterflies

 

 

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