On Friday, March 16, Kerry Wixted will give a talk about “Destination Pollination: Designing Habitats for Pollinators”.
Pollinators around the world and in Maryland are on the decline. Not only does that pose a threat to the survival of certain insect species, but it would affect our food supply as well. A large number of plants depend on pollination to produce fruits. Without pollination we would not have apples, pears, peaches, plums, almonds, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, water melon, squash, zucchini, just to name a few.
When we think of pollination, we usually think about honey bees. However, native bees and other pollinators play a large role as well. There are more than 4000 native bee species in the USA. Maryland is home to more than 400 bee species and there are over 200 different species on the Eastern Shore alone. Bees are not the only pollinators around; beetles, wasps, butterflies, moths, flies and even hummingbirds and bats are pollinators as well. This Friday, learn how to create pollinator-friendly habitats in almost any backyard. This talk will focus on plants and habitat practices that help attract pollinators.
Kerry Wixted is an education and outreach specialist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service. Kerry runs several state-wide programs such as Project WILD for educators and Wild Acres for backyard wildlife habitat enthusiasts. Kerry holds a B.S. degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Management from Frostburg State University, and a M.S. degree in Biology from West Virginia University.
The program will be held at 10:00am at the Kent County Public Library, 408 High Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. This event is free of charge. For more information, please contact Sabine Harvey, 410-778-1661 or [email protected]
The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.