Pollinator Conservation Short Course

Pollinator Conservation Short Course

Summary

We are providing a Pollinator Conservation Short Course in all Southern states for more than 300 staff from the NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Certified Crop Advisors, the FSA, and Extension personnel.

This Course provides real solutions to the decline of crop pollinators. Research demonstrates that native bees make a significant contribution to crop pollination—in some cases providing all pollination when enough habitat is available. A new article in the prestigious journal Science (Garibaldi et al. 2013) clearly shows native bees make a significant contribution to crop pollination. The study has prompted a renewed call to maintain and manage pollinator diversity for long-term agricultural production. It suggests that new practices for integrated management of both honey bees and wild insects such as conservation or restoration of natural or semi-natural areas within croplands, addition of diverse floral and nesting resources, and more prudent use of insecticides that can kill pollinators will enhance global yields of animal-pollinated crops and promote long-term agricultural production.

Our Short Courses have been providing just such information to agricultural professionals. Each Short Course provides an overview of pollinator biology, conservation practices that support pollinators, relevant habitat management guidelines, an overview of the latest research findings, and an overview of how to implement pollinator conservation programs authorized in the Farm Bill.

This is the first training to support Southern producers of bee-pollinated crops (blueberry, peach, citrus, cotton, cucumber, and watermelon). A recent NRCS survey documented that farmers want to conserve pollinators but need technical assistance to do so. This course helps create that expertise.

The Xerces Society is the oldest pollinator conservation organization in the U.S. and is ideally positioned to carry out this project, having already conducted this training in many other states with the support of farmers, local researchers, and habitat restoration specialists.

Project success is being measured through a number of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Based upon extensive experience, we know that each Course participant goes on to positively influence at least 100 acres of farmland for pollinators and other wildlife.

Finally, this project supports a new pollinator handbook published by SARE.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course will be offered over two years, with six Courses conducted in the first year, seven in the second year, and follow-up evaluations and ongoing support offered beyond project completion (using leveraged funds). Under this schedule, earlier Courses will help us to continually refine curriculum for future events. The two-year timeline also provides ample time to focus on promotional efforts to maximize attendance for all events.

Accomplishments/Milestones

From April 2012 – March 2013, we conducted the following Short Courses. The primary audiences at these events were staff from the NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Extension, as well as a number of individual farmers, researchers, master gardeners, naturalists, and beekeepers.

• May 15, 2012: Short Course at the Jeral L. Hampton Meeting Place in Booneville, Arkansas. Xerces Staff, along with staff from the PMS and U of AR, presented the course for 52 participants, 24 of whom were from the NRCS.

• May 15, 2012: Short Course at the National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL) in Tifton, Georgia. Xerces staff presented the course to 26 participants, including 13 NRCS staff.

• May 17, 2012: Short Course at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau, Oklahoma. Xerces staff and NRCS staff presented the course to 29 participants, 14 of whom were from the NRCS.

• June 6, 2012: Short Course at Spartanburg Community College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Xerces staff, along with NRCS staff and staff from Clemson University, presented the course to 29 people, 15 of whom were from the NRCS.

• July 25, 2012: Short Course at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Xerces staff presented the course to 44 participants, including 10 NRCS staff.

Using leveraged funds to support this project, we held two additional Short Courses in the Southern SARE region that were attended by 70 people. Support for these events was made possible by the NRCS East National Technology Support Center, which has worked to encourage NRCS attendance at the SARE-sponsored Short Courses. This leveraged support represents a major expansion of SARE’s original investment and has significantly increased our capacity to reach many more Southern SARE stakeholders.

• May 17, 2012: Short Course at the Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center in Mansfield, Georgia. Xerces staff, along with staff from the NRCS and UGA, presented the course for 34 participants, 14 of whom were from the NRCS (this Short Course was funded by the NRCS East National Technology Support Center)

• June 13, 2012: Short Course at the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Xerces staff, along with NRCS staff and staff from Clemson University, presented the course to 36 people, 15 of whom were from the NRCS.

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Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

We continue to experience great success with our existing outreach efforts and saw a rapidly rising interest in the conservation of native pollinators. We believe the reason for this interest is both due to the ongoing plight of managed and native pollinators, as well as the fact that bee conservation provides an accessible framework for achieving other conservation objectives. To date, more than 290 people participated in the Short Course—almost reaching our total project target of 300 participants in the first year and a half alone.

Specific feedback from Short Course participants is consistently and overwhelming positive. Examples of specific comments from 2012 included:

“Yes – more than fulfilled. Excellent presentations. Well organized training.”
Biologist/Entomologist, Florida Short Course

“Was beyond my expectations an excellent course.”
Agricultural Educator, Florida Short Course

“To further enhance my knowledge of pollinators and pollinator plants. Absolutely loved it – definitely want to study, learn and practice more in depth. Thank you!!”
Gardener, Florida Short Course

“Yes (expectations fulfilled), this workshop was fantastic!”
Agricultural Support Staff, Florida Short Course

“Xerces Society put on a very well developed and informative program. Well done.”
Agricultural Support Staff, Arkansas Short Course

“Yes – I was very excited to be here and participate. The presenters were warm, accessible, and excellent speakers.”
Beekeeper, Oklahoma Short Course

“ I didn’t expect much of all. This training exceeded my expectations. Great teachers and great subject.”
Agricultural Support Staff, Georgia Short Course

“To learn basics of conservation of pollinators – exceeded expectations. Great course – I’m excited to get started.”
Fish and Wildlife Service Staff, Georgia Short Course

“Excellent workshop – covered many different areas to create whole picture for bee situation/farming. All instructors excellent.”
Soil Scientist, Georgia Short Course

“This was a very informative workshop & I learned many things! Very interesting!”
Agricultural Support Staff, South Carolina Short Course

“I expected to learn about pollinators, and I did. I was pleased to have so many useful resources provided, like the book and assessment tool. Also it was nice to break up the day with a field trip so we weren’t sitting all day…”
Beekeeper/Gardener, South Carolina Short Course

“This was outstanding. Eric knew his stuff and was a great spokesperson. NRCS friendly!”
Agricultural Support Staff, Texas Short Course

“My expectations were far exceeded by this presentation. Eric did a great job of explaining all the different subject matter in easy to understand terms. He also encouraged everyone to do what they could, no matter how small.”
Park Ranger, Texas Short Course

Through this project, we continue to impact the way that farm educators incorporate pollinator conservation into their work. Specifically, based upon post event questionnaires for 2011 and 2012, 87% of agricultural support staff said that the Short Course changed how they would advise farmers on management practices to support pollinators. Among those reporting, 95% said they would incorporate pollinator habitat enhancement information into already existing trainings in Farm Bill Programs.

While the Short Course specifically targets farm educators and farm agency staff, a number of farmers attended each event. Among them, 90% said that attending the Short Course changed how they would support pollinators on their farms. These farmers and landowners reported to collectively manage approximately 23,160 acres of land.

No major challenges have arisen during the reporting period. One factor that we have now addressed is our organizational capacity. Each Short Course that we conduct inevitably results in a flood of additional workshop requests, as well as follow-up inquiries for farm-specific technical support. We believe that this response reflects the quality of the training that we offer. To help meet these many requests for specific project support, we’ve added additional courses to select states. With leveraged funding from the NRCS East National Technology Support Center, we were able to offer additional courses.

The second unanticipated challenge we have faced is a larger than expected interest in Short Course enrollment. This overwhelmingly positive response to our work has been the most validating endorsement of pollinator conservation possible. In our proposal, we budgeted for a maximum of 30 participants at each event (based upon previous experience outside the Southern region). The actual number of registrants has far exceeded that anticipated target at most events, but we have been able to accommodate many more participants with funds leveraged from additional sources.

A third challenge we’re beginning to face is the ability to fit in all the relevant material into the agenda for a seven-hour course. New research and technical guidance relevant to pollinator conservation continues to evolve, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fit all the content into the Short Course agenda. In post course evaluations, participants have requested an expansion of our current Short Course model to an in-depth, multi-day course that covers more detailed information on site preparation and habitat establishment as well as more in-depth training on pollinator identifications.

Collaborators: