International Pollinator Week 2022 is June 20-26, and Wisconsin Women in Conservation is celebrating with a FREE Women’s Summer Camp Lunch webinar on June 23 from 12-1 p.m.
All women farmers, landowners and conservationists are welcome to attend, and enjoy presentations from local experts on the topic of “Enhancing Pollinators.” Registration is FREE at WiWiC.org under Events.
Presenters will be Deirdre Birmingham of The Cider Farm in rural Mineral Point, and Laura Jach Smith, Project Wingspan Wisconsin State Coordinator and Wisconsin NRCS Pollinator Liaison. Participants will be able to ask questions live.
“Besides just being a vital part of the ecosystem, pollinators were responsible for the pollination of our early blooming apple varieties this year,” says Birmingham. “The hives that usually set on neighboring farms did not come until thousands of our trees were done flowering. So the apples we are getting on those trees are thanks to our wild pollinators.”
Birmingham has enhanced the pollinator habitat on her certified organic property by planting a 30-acre prairie, putting prairie strips around orchard, adding milkweed seeds for monarchs, alternating the mowing in alleyways so every other row is flowering, enhancing beneficial insect populations, using certified organic products, and leaving dandelions alone.
She explains to Mid-West Farm report that being certified organic doesn’t mean no-spray or low-spray, and so The Cider Farm uses organic pesticides that won’t cause harm to bees.
“It’s about the materials you use and the approach, such as conservation and systems thinking,” Birmingham says. “There are broad spectrum insecticides or herbicides that are allowed in organic systems, but they are quite biodegradable. it’s how you use them and how often.”
The webinar is part of WiWiC’s second year of their Conservation Summer Camp series, monthly lunch hour Zooms held the last Thursday of each month. Topics are chosen based on surveys at WiWiC events. The Zooms are a virtual opportunity to join women landowners from across the state who share a passion for stewarding the land and to connect with expert advice, resources, and opportunities.
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