AdkAction to host pollinator symposium

AdkAction will host national leaders in pollinator conservation at its first pollinator symposium on Wednesday, June 5, from 10 am to 4 pm.

Since 2016 the group has worked to spread the message that saving pollinators such as butterflies and bees is important for farms, food security and biodiversity in the Adirondacks.

“At this time we feel that a critical mass of understanding has been achieved in our region, so we are shifting our focus to hands-on conservation,” AdkAction Executive Director Brittany Christenson said in an email.

The symposium will cover a range of topics, from sustainable gardening to pollinator habitat restoration, all focused on taking action to protect and conserve pollinators. The keynote speaker will be Benjamin Vogt, a garden designer, award winning writer and author of “A New Garden Ethic.”

Other speakers will include experts from AdkAction, Audubon International, Xerces Society, Pollinator Conservation Association, Cornell University Cooperative Extension Essex County and Monarch Gardens.

The symposium is part of the AdkAction’s Adirondack Pollinator Project, an initiative that aims to educate public officials and empower citizens to take action to protect pollinators. Other collaborators in the symposium include The Wild Center, Lake Placid Land Conservancy and Paul Smith’s College.

Anyone can register by emailing [email protected] or visiting the event’s website. Registration costs $40 and includes coffee and lunch. The event will be held at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek.

— Sara Ruberg