In keeping with National Pollinator Week (June 19-25) I thought this rainy morning that I would write about two related developments: The creation of a Bee App by the Center for Food Safety that is due for release in September/October but which you can contribute to now; and an all-day webinar sponsored by
_______________________________________________________________
Wild Bee ID App from the Center for Food Safety Is Coming!
Please chip in today to help us build this innovative mobile app >>
Sample screens from the proposed Bee App being developed by the Center for Food Safety.
Ever been in your garden and wondered what species a beautiful bee is—or indeed if it is even a bee? Wild Bee ID is a mobile app for iOS and Android being built as go-to guide for identifying bees and bee-friendly plants, creating pollinator gardens, and learning how to get involved in the fight to protect these critical species.
Most folks don’t realize that we have over 4,000 species of native bees here in the USA. These bees come in all shapes and sizes and are often mistaken for flies and other insects. As pollinators, native bees are much more efficient than their cousin, the European honeybee.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) is a national nonprofit environmental advocacy group that empowers people, supports farmers, and protects the earth from harmful food production technologies. They work to advance organic and other sustainable forms of agriculture.
One of their longstanding programs has been to protect pollinators from toxic pesticides used in our agriculture practices. As an established leader in the food movement at the forefront of the fight to protect pollinators, CFS is well equipped to spearhead native bee educational opportunities through both the Wild Bee ID app and their existing pollinator education program.
I look forward to downloading the bee app in early October. The timeline for the development of this BEE Application is as follows:
June – Fundraising
July/August – App Development and Internal Testing
September/October – Public release
___________________________________________
Mark your Calendar for June 28 Pollinator Webinar!
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Pollinator Health Working Group, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will host a Listening Session to discuss a strategy to monitor native bees in the United States.
June 28 Webinar:
To connect to the webinar please follow the instructions below:
The conference begins at 8:00 AM Eastern Time on June 28, 2017; you may join 10 minutes prior.
Step 1: http://ems7.intellor.com/login/712919(link is external)
Step 2: Instructions for connecting to conference audio will then be presented on your computer. You will be connected to the conference with the AT&T Connect Web Participant Application - there is no software download or installation required. If you are unable to connect to the conference by computer, you may listen by telephone only at 1-877-369-5243 or 1-617-668-3633 using 0866106# or Find an Alternate Number (link is external). If you need technical assistance, call the AT&T Help Desk at 1-888-796-6118 or 1-847-562-7015.
________________________________________________
The 2017 poster, The Monarch Highway, demonstrates the landscape that parallels roadways, like the I-35 corridor, can provide natural habitat to support the annual migration of the monarch butterfly.
Purchase the poster here. http://www.pollinator.org/posters.htm
______________________________________________________________
Five Things Kids Can Do to Help Pollinators
http://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/NPW/2017/5-Things-Kids-Can-Do.pdf