Save the Date

JULY 7 AND 8, 2023

OSU ALUMNI CENTER

CORVALLIS, OREGON

 

Registration Opens May 15th  Click here to register.

 

KEYNOTE: TOM KAYE

FRIDAY JULY 7, 9-10:30 AM

Title: Coping with Climate: How our changing environment is affecting native plants and habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Description: Dr. Tom Kaye from the Institute for Applied Ecology will summarize some recent research from our region on how plants are responding to a changing climate. Further, he’ll consider what restoration ecologists — and gardeners — can do to help plants when their environment changes rapidly.

Bio: Tom Kaye is Executive Director and Senior Ecologist at the Institute for Applied Ecology, a nonprofit organization with a mission to conserve native habitats and species through research, restoration, and education. He is also a courtesy Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University. Tom conducts research on rare species reintroductions, pollination biology, habitat restoration, plant invasions, plant population responses to climate change, and engages prison inmates in conservation through the Sagebrush in Prisons Project. Sourcing native plants for restoration is a key area of interest, research, and publication for Dr. Kaye. He serves as a board member for the Society for Ecological Restoration.

 

KEYNOTE: ANDONY MELATHOPOULOS

SATURDAY JULY 8, 9-10:30 AM

Talk title: Take a Walk on the Wild Side: The remarkable wild bees of Oregon and the volunteers who love them.

Description: The number of bees continues to creep up. First, we had a card that said, “500 species”. Then, when no one was looking, we upped the number to 600 species. Now we say “782 species”. The reason for the ever-increasing number is the remarkable counterpart to the Master Gardeners, the Master Melittologists. Take walk on the wild side with these volunteers as we show you the unbelievably weird bees of the state, the flowers they love and how you can help get the word out about Oregon’s bee biodiversity through your Master Gardener activities.

Bio: Andony Melathopoulos is an Associate Professor in Pollinator Health Extension in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University, which was the first such position in the US. He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Oregon Bee Project, which coordinates pollinator health work across state
agencies, leads the Oregon Bee Atlas and hosts a podcast called PolliNation.