Progress report for WRGR21-003
Project Information
Numerous SARE funded research projects have been done regionally, which show that habitat strips support pollinator and beneficial insect populations on farms. Considerations such as ease of maintenance, non-invasive qualities, additional income from harvestable plant species, carbon sequestration opportunities and increased climate resiliency (e.g. improved pest management, microclimate control) influence the feasibility for farmers to establish pollinator and beneficial insect habitat. To apply this research, habitat planting templates will be developed in partnership with farmers, and demonstration models of each template will be established on collaborator farms. Demonstration models on host farms will provide the structure for workshops on establishing and maintaining habitat plantings, the basics of native bee and beneficial insect biology and identification, and citizen science opportunities, and cost share opportunities for habitat establishment. A monitoring component will be included to advance understanding of the benefits of habitat templates.
While we anticipate being able to deliver these workshops in person during the project period, the uncertainty of in-person programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic remains a major concern at the time of this proposal. Pierce Conservation District has already modified our workshop delivery to include virtual farm tours and workshops, as well as film sessions that can be embedded on our social media and web pages to reach the broadest audience possible.
- Equip 60 farmers, at minimum, with understanding of native bee and beneficial insect biology and identification through three (3) demonstration workshops.
- Equip farmers with knowledge of how wildlife plantings contribute to the ecosystem function, carbon sequestration potential, and resiliency of their operations.
- Provide farmers with habitat planting templates that they are able to adapt to their operations based on the increased understandings gained.
- Inform farmers of incentive opportunities for implementing the practice through programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and local cost-share opportunities.
- Promote the role of farmlands to address ecosystem function, carbon sequestration and resiliency via wildlife plantings to the wider community.
- Provide additional data and observations on role of wildlife plantings on pollinator/beneficials populations.
- Install six (6) demonstration habitat planting strips over three years for a total of 18 demonstration planting strips, (~200ft each).
- Three (3) new annual demonstrations per year and nine (9) new perennial demonstrations in years two (2023) and three (2024).
- Expand beyond our three (3) collaborator farms and recruit at least two (2) additional farms to install demonstration habitat planting strips for a total of five (5) farms implementing the practice for demonstration purposes.
- By the end of the project, our target is to convert 1/3 of the workshop attendees (minimum of 20 farms) to begin the process of implementing the practice.
An increased awareness of pollinator population declines and the crop production benefits of creating habitat for beneficial insects, as well as a growing understanding of the importance of ecosystem services and the carbon sequestration potential of wildlife habitat on farms, has led to increased interest from farmers and natural resource stakeholders to integrate habitat into farm production systems. And yet growers are intimidated by the project scope and learning curve required to establish habitat on farm. In the SARE funded project “Does More Diverse Plant Architecture in Pollinator Habitats Influence Native Pollinator and Beneficial Insect Abundance and Diversity?” (https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fw18-030/) researchers noted, “Growers want to encourage pollinators but are hindered by lack of knowledge, limited time and labor, and the perception that pollinator habitat is weedy.”
To address this barrier, we will utilize the findings of recent SARE studies and technical guides, such as “Assessing the effects of non-honeybee insects on pollination in diversified organic farms” which highlights that non-honeybee “abundance was similar on farms located in urban compared to rural locations, but increased with greater floral diversity on farms in either type of landscape. The research findings were combined with an extensive outreach effort and led to the publication of a guide to native pollinators in western Washington, “Promoting Native Bee Health and Pollination Services on Diversified Organic Produce”, which we will rely on in our own outreach efforts.
Using these SARE resources and others, and working with local farmers to integrate practical application feedback, we will develop a set of planting templates for perennial and annual native plant habitat strips that maximize benefits to pollinator/beneficials populations. This iterative process will take into consideration the dynamics of a working farm to offer field-tested planting designs to farmers that enable them to maximize benefits to production systems while avoiding unforeseen problems with habitat plantings. The cited resources provide regionally relevant information on plant selection, establishment considerations and guidelines, and interaction between planting design and pollinator/beneficials populations and their activity in local agroecosystems.
Other SARE and outside research and guides we will rely on for informing our process include but are not limited to:
(1) Western Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course, https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/ew10-018/
(2) Enhancing Pollinator Habitat in Pacific Northwest Croplands Using DNA Metabarcoding Techniques, https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/gw19-188/
(3) A Citizen Science Guide to Wild Bees and Floral Visitors in Western Washington (produced under SARE project GW16-033)
(4) Xerces Pollinator Conservation Resources: Pacific Northwest Region
https://xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/pnw
(5)The Native Pollinator Habitat Restoration Guide, Best Management Practices for the Puget Sound Lowlands
(6) WSDA Pollinator Task Force
Cooperators
- - Producer
- (Educator and Researcher)
- - Producer
- - Producer (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Equip farmers with understanding of pollinator and beneficial insect biology, wildlife habitat promotion on farm, planting templates and planting material for habitat establishment.
1. Equip 60 farmers, at minimum, with understanding of native bee and beneficial insect biology and identification through three (3) demonstration workshops.
2. Equip farmers with knowledge of how wildlife plantings contribute to the ecosystem function, carbon sequestration potential, and resiliency of their operations.
3. Provide farmers with habitat planting templates that they are able to adapt to their operations based on the increased understandings gained.
4. Inform farmers of incentive opportunities for implementing the practice through programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and local cost-share opportunities.
5. Promote the role of farmlands to address ecosystem function, carbon sequestration and resiliency via wildlife plantings to the wider community.
6. Provide additional data and observations on role of wildlife plantings on pollinator/beneficials populations.
2022 Progress
One on farm summer (August) workshop was held to provide farmers with hands on experience recognizing pollinator and beneficial insect species. Bob Gillespie, a retired entomologist affiliated with WSU, brought his insect collection and provided a species overview presentation before taking attendees in the field to observe insects on the farm's pollinator hedgerows. (17 attendees)
One virtual fall (December) workshop was held to provide farmers information on site preparation for habitat installations. Corin Pease, PNW Pollinator Conservation Specialist with Xerces Society, presented the important steps of conventional and organic site preparation to ensure successful plant establishment. (62 attendees)
Both workshops incorporated information on the role of habitat plantings for ecosystem health, carbon sequestration and farm resiliency and current funding opportunities for habitat installation.
Two farmer working group meetings were convened to further the development of the planting templates. A spring (March) meeting focused on farmer experiences with annual insectary strip species, and the group provided feedback on an annual species insectary mix developed for the project by Corin Pease of the Xerces Society. Most commercially available mixes are dominated by perennial species which hit their stride the following season, necessitating that the strip remain in place permanently to maximize efficacy. The farmers were interested in developing a mix composed of annuals that would come on strong for one season and would be appropriate for an insectary strip that would be in place just one season. A fall (December) meeting focused on reviewing the data and observations from the annual species insectary mixes planted on farms, and reviewing the preliminary plant species lists for the perennial hedgerow planting templates the farmer group identified in 2022.
In the spring we were made aware of an effort by WSU to develop an online pollinator hedgerow manual for the Pacific Northwest. We reached out to the group and discovered our projects align and compliment each other in strategic ways, and have made plans to collaborate to amplify the impact of both projects and the expertise of those involved. The online manual will be released in February 2023.
1. Install six (6) demonstration habitat planting strips over three years for a total of 18 demonstration planting strips, (~200ft each). Three (3) new annual demonstrations per year and nine (9) new perennial demonstrations in years two (2023) and three (2024).
2. Expand beyond our three (3) collaborator farms and recruit at least two (2) additional farms to install demonstration habitat planting strips for a total of five (5) farms implementing the practice for demonstration purposes.
3. y the end of the project, our target is to convert 1/3 of the workshop attendees (minimum of 20 farms) to begin the process of implementing the practice.
2022 Progress
Five farmers received seed for two commercial mixes and Corin's mix for installing annual species insectary strips in crop fields. Due to an unusually rainy spring farmers were delayed by almost one month getting into their fields and only two of the farmers were able to manage getting their insectary strips planted. One farmer establish two strips composed of Corin's mix, and one farmer established three strips total, two composed of two different commercially available mixes and one composed of Corin's mix. The insectary strips at both farms did very well, yielded great observations and were well-received by the farmers. Both farms expressed they would establish the strips again. An approach to monitoring developed by Xerces was trialed with the goal of identifying a technique that farmers could easily learn and use to gauge the effects of insectary strips and pollinator hedgerows within their systems.
Good progress was made by the project towards developing perennial species hedgerow planting templates with the goal of finalizing the templates in early 2023 for installation on farms in fall/winter 2023.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
One on farm summer (August) workshop was held to provide farmers with hands on experience recognizing pollinator and beneficial insect species. Bob Gillespie, a retired entomologist affiliated with WSU, brought his insect collection and provided a species overview presentation before taking attendees in the field to observe insects on the farm's pollinator hedgerows. (17 attendees)
One virtual fall (December) workshop was held to provide farmers information on site preparation for habitat installations. Corin Pease, PNW Pollinator Conservation Specialist with Xerces Society, presented the important steps of conventional and organic site preparation to ensure successful plant establishment. (62 attendees)
Two farmer working group meetings were convened to further the development of the planting templates. A spring (March) meeting focused on farmer experiences with annual insectary strip species, and the group provided feedback on an annual species insectary mix developed for the project by Corin Pease of the Xerces Society. Most commercially available mixes are dominated by perennial species which hit their stride the following season, necessitating that the strip remain in place permanently to maximize efficacy. The farmers were interested in developing a mix composed of annuals that would come on strong for one season and would be appropriate for an insectary strip that would be in place just one season. A fall (December) meeting focused on reviewing the data and observations from the annual species insectary mixes planted on farms, and reviewing the preliminary plant species lists for the perennial hedgerow planting templates the farmer group identified in 2022.
In the spring we were made aware of an effort by WSU to develop an online pollinator hedgerow manual for the Pacific Northwest. We reached out to the group and discovered our projects align and compliment each other in strategic ways, and have made plans to collaborate to amplify the impact of both projects and the expertise of those involved. The online manual will be released in February 2023.