A free evening lecture series from January through May 2013, 7–8:30 pm
McLane Center
No pre-registration required.

Managing for Native Pollinators: May 16
Speaker: Don Keirstead, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
What is happening to honey bee hives and populations in the United States? In recent years, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has decimated honey bee hives in the US. Don Keirstead, a Landscape Ecologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, will present information on possible causes of CCD and discuss the effects on farmers who rent bees. Because wild bumble bees are more effective at pollinating crops in the cold wet springs of New England, managing wild bumble bee habitat is increasingly popular among farmers and backyard gardeners. This session will include some of the basics in managing for wild bumble bees as a method of improving food security and reducing costs to local farmers and food growers.

Bio: Don Keirstead is a Landscape Ecologist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Durham, NH. His experience in ecosystem restoration and management is extensive and varied. Specific to increasing the abundance of wild bumble bees on farm, Don has worked with leading experts from the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation over the past four years as part of a pollen and nectar resources for wild bumble bees on apple and blueberry operations.

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