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BEES or Not to Be

18 Apr 2015

BEES or Not to Be

5:00am - 12:00pm

Chase Community Center

Chase Community Center

​As many of you know honey bees are dying at alarming rates, with reported yearly loses of 20 to 50% in some apiaries. Without pollination, there is concern that our agriculture and our food production system will be dramatically and economically challenged.

Sponsored by the Sierra Club of the Upper Valley and Vermont Law School's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, BEES, or not to BE is a day long program this Saturday, April 18 in Chase. It will address issues and questions involving honey bees and wild pollinators - why are they dying and what can we do about it.

The morning panel from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. will focus on honey bees, recent research involving pesticides and honey bees as well as the challenges honey bees face with pathogens and climate change. It will also cover what beekeepers can do to keep their hives healthy and alive, and what beekeepers and others around the country are doing in support of all our pollinators. Key speakers include Mary Anne Frazier, Senior Extension Associate at Penn State Center of Pollinator Research, and Ross Conrad, author of Natural Beekeeping, a regular contributor to Bee Culture Magazine, and owner of Dancing Bees Apiary in VT.

The afternoon panel from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. will describe our diverse native pollinators, their habits and habitats. It will offer ways we can encourage pollinators with native food plants and nest sites and describe how attracting beneficial insects can reduce pest populations naturally. Key speakers: Jarrod Fowler, lecturer of Entomological Horticulture at the Stockbridge School for Agriculture, UMass Amherst, USDA NRCS Technical Service Provider of Pollinator Habitat Enhancement Plans for New England farmers, landowners, and wildlife; Lionel Chute, Director, Sullivan County Natural Resources, (NH) and District Manager of the Sullivan County Conservation District; and Cat Buxton, consultant, teacher and community organizer promoting food system change through education and advocacy.

Questions? Concerns? Contact Kathy McCullough at KMCCULLOUGH@vermontlaw.edu