[Pollinator] Letter to pollination listserver

[Kimberley Fellows]

Hello -- I am submitting a message from a grower is VERY interested in
developing a "Pollinator Observation Handbook" geared specifically to
farmers as they walk their property.

In other words, he and a group of like-minded compatriots, are looking to
learn more about such things as:

- as I walk along at 6am, which pollinators am I seeing? if I'm out at 6pm,
who can I expect?
- on such&such crop, what kind of pollinators might I expect to see?
- *etcetera*

He is not looking for references or resources -- he very much wants to *partner
with an expert* to develop this guidebook, paid through a grant.

He just needs help collating relevant information from all the resources
that are already out there. Ultimately, he wants to take this information
to develop workshops and create a farmer-to-farmer network of citizen
(grower-specific) science!

Is anyone's job ending soon ;-) ? Anyone looking for such a project?

Please see message below for further details, and PLEASE pass this on to
anyone you think would love to be involved in this project.

Best regards,
KiM

* --*

*K i m b e r l e y   M.   F e l l o w s*
Pollination Outreach Coordinator
Seeds of Diversity <http://www.seeds.ca/en.php> ~ Pollination
Canada<http://www.seeds.ca/proj/poll/>
Semences du Patrimoine <http://www.seeds.ca/fr.php> ~ Pollinisation Canada
<http://www.pollinisationcanada.ca/>303-40 King Street South
Waterloo ON N2J 1N8 Canada

Heard about Bee Friendly Farming or
Gardening<http://www.fooddowntheroad.ca/content/introducing-bee-friendly-farming>
?

"Spot Your Flower <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3pIuy69UE8>" *
* Yes, you're right ... the film uses the word 'proboscis' incorrectly, for
a moth's proboscis refers to their feeding tube, and would be more
accurately described as a tongue. In contrast, proboscis usually refers to
a nose in the vertebrate world (animals with a backbone). A majority
of pollinators
inadvertently spread flower pollen simply as they feed on pollen and nectar for
their own nutritional needs. Do not be confused -- in this film clip
featuring this particular orchid pollination, it is still plant pollen that
is involved in pollination -- you can learn more about this wondrous,
unusual strategy in Michael Pollan's musings Love and
Lies<http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2009/09/orchids/pollan-text>
.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thorsten Arnold <thorsten.r.arnold at gmail.com>
Date: 28 November 2013 11:30
Subject: Letter to pollination listserver
To: Kimberley Fellows <kim at seeds.ca>, Kimberley Fellows <
kimberley.fellows at gmail.com>


Dear pollinator friends,

We are looking for someone with experience in observing wild
pollinators, who could help us market gardeners to develop our
capacity to observe and understand the pollination microcosm that
surrounds us every day.

Organic market gardeners rely heavily on a diversity of wild
pollinators. In fact, in a mixed field, each row of crop is likely to
be pollinated by a different species and group. We have a vested
interest and also the curiosity to understand better what is happening
around us.

We propose a project that develops a standardized protocol for
observing pollinators in mixed fields. Our aim is to build the
capacity of farmers, while gathering data in a way that allows
cross-regional comparison of species diversity and abundance.
Collaboration with academia would be appreciated. For example, our
qualitative daily observation could be complemented with aggregated
quantitative trap counts.

We are looking for an expert who is confident that s/he can find order
within the insect chaos, and guide our learning. We need to know what
to look for, but also influences of daytime, weather, season. What are
indicator species? Which differentiations are too complex for newbees
like us? What strategy should we follow to learn step by step? What
type of data creates low-hanging fruits for cross-regional analysis?

This project idea is coordinated by the Grey Bruce Centre for
Agroecology (www.gbcae.com), a recently formed cooperative of
small-scale diversified farmers with professional background. We would
like to submit a proposal and budget for an expert to develop a
guideline book, hold workshops on how to use it before the season
starts, gather observation data during the season, have a wrap-up
workshop for smoothing the guidelines. This would be the end of the
project, if it is successful, we hope it will be the foundation for a
citizen science network to monitor wild pollinators and raise public
awareness.

If you are interested in collaborating with us, as academic partners
or pollinator experts, please get in touch.

Kind regards, Thorsten

---------------------------------------------------------
Thorsten Arnold
thorsten.arnold at gbcae.com
Grey Bruce Centre for Agroecology
www.gbcae.com

RR3,Allenford, ON
N0H 1A0
tel. 519 935 3005
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