Bees, Trees, and Clean Water Workshop

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When

Saturday, August 13, 2022 10:00AM - 3:00PM EDT

Where

Second Baptist Church

3300 Broad Rock Blvd
Richmond, VA
23224
USA

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CBF Virginia Office

Event Details

Join us for "Bees, Trees, and Clean Water," a workshop that will teach the ins and outs of creating habitat in your yard for bees and other pollinators, as well as the role trees play in keeping our streams healthy.
Registration closes August 10, 2022.

Pollinators play a critical role in our ecosystem and food supply chain - nearly 80% of crop plants require pollination! However, urbanization has fractured key habitats, reduced the number of native plants and trees pollinators rely on for survival, and contributed to increasing levels of polluted runoff entering our local waterways. This informative workshop will teach you how you can make a difference in your own yard through changes to your landscaping practices.

Speakers will cover information on:

  • the life cycle of native bees and how their populations are faring in Richmond;
  • how you can incorporate native plants into your landscaping at home to attract songbirds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators and create habitat; and
  • the importance of urban tree canopy and streamside buffers to keeping our waters clean and healthy.

We are thrilled to offer this great lineup of entertaining, expert speakers, including:

  • Robert Ostrom, Virginia Tech: Robert is currently earning an M.S. in Entomology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, studying in the BEESi lab. His research is helping develop honey bees as bioindicators of native bee health. He is interested in native bee distribution, native bee ecology, and the creation of a species checklist for each U.S. state to bridge the gap between academic research, policymakers, and the public.
  • Kendall Topping, Virginia Department of Forestry: Kendall is dedicated to healthy urban forests throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region and is focused on community forestry, conducting outreach to communities from Pittsburgh to Hampton Roads. She has worked on a variety of projects throughout her career, ranging from urban tree mortality research with the U.S. Forest Service to infrastructure projects at the Philadelphia Water Department.
  • Robert Jennings, White Oak Talking Ecological Services: Robert has decades of experience working in conservation, natural resource management, and grassroots organizing and advocacy. He has worked extensively on inventorying and controlling invasive plant species in national parks throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and has extensive knowledge of beneficial, native plants landowners can subsitute for harmful invasives. He also founded the Northern Chapter of Native Plant Society of New Jersey.

Lunch will be provided, and attendees will receive an updated copy of the Native Plants for Virginia's Capital Region handbook. In the afternoon, we will tour Eden's Garden and other sustainable conservation practices on the church's property.

If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, we strongly recommend that you wear a mask.

If you have additional questions about the workshop, please reach out to Gabby Troutman, Virginia Grassroots Coordinator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 804-258-1605.

This course is free thanks to funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and its funding sources. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government, or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or its funding sources.

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Event Registration

  • Registration for this event is now closed.