VIDEOS & WEBINARS

The City of Longmont, CO has successfully transitioned the turf management in two of its premier parks to organic practices, setting a remarkable example of sustainable land management. Ben Gratton, Longmont’s Park Supervisor, has led the effort and generously shared his depth of experience during this webinar on Thursday, November 9th, 2023. This webinar is tailored for municipal staff, leaders, and land management professionals interested in learning more about Longmont’s turf management process. Join the City of Longmont, People & Pollinators Action Network, Beyond Pesticides, and Osborne Organics as we explore sound approaches to park and turf management with insights and strategies you can apply in your own communities. You will leave the webinar with the next steps for getting started in an organic transition, including funding and implementation support.

The term, ‘conservation’, is tossed around a lot, and often without adequate appreciation of its meaning or interpretation. Simply put, to ‘conserve’ something is to preserve or protect something which you value from things which would harm it. Sounds reasonable enough. However, in reality, people value different things and in different ways, impacting their ideas of what conservation is and means or what conservation action should be. ​Colorado’s pollinators have become increasingly of conservation concern through the years, and yet, just as our pollinators are exceptionally diverse, so too are the people that value them, their perspectives, and their ideas surrounding pollinator conservation. ​Join us as Dr. Adrian Carper, a community ecologist focused primarily on pollinators, creates a conversation around how we collectively acknowledge the complex issue of objectivity in our own conservation initiatives: to 1) be open to the science, data, and current understanding of pollinator communities, 2) think critically about how pollinators impact humans and we, in turn, impact them, and 3) how we can collectively work to understand the complex ecological and societal implications of pollinator conservation policy and practice.

Keystone species in nature are the pillars upon which entire ecosystems rely and have a beneficial impact on insect populations and diversity. ​Incorporating keystone tree species—such as oak, cherry, and willow—into our landscapes is critical in supporting pollinator habitat. These species not only provide sustenance for invertebrates like caterpillars, but also pupation sites for those caterpillars to become pollinating butterflies and moths! ​Join Ryan Bartlett, tree and Colorado native bee expert, to learn about all the different organisms that rely upon trees to survive!

Sharon Selvaggio, a staff member in The Xerces Society’s Pesticide Program, studies the risks of pesticides and helps people move away from pesticide reliance toward prevention-based pest management. In her discussion, she shares the strategies that the Xerces Society is using to source pollinator-safe plants for monarch and pollinator restoration and to identify ways to work with your local green industry to shift growing and buying practices.

The most important action you can take is to call your legislator TODAY - both your senator and your representative. They are currently voting on a bill (SB23-192), that if left as it now stands, will deny local governments and their communities the ability to limit where and how pesticides are used, blocking us from choosing how best to protect our families, pollinators, birds and our environment. A phone call is the most effective means to communicate with legislators. Leave a voicemail if a staff member doesn’t answer. Say that you are their constituent and ask that they ensure that control for pesticide use is returned to local governments where it belongs. You can find your legislator here: https://leg.colorado.gov/FindMyLegislator Click on the link for each legislator’s webpage to get their phone number. A second action is to join hundreds of others by signing an open letter as an organization, business, and/or individual at https://forms.gle/VFHvkZ9MgyKYY5mU8 Learn more at ReclaimLocalControl.org

​As pollinators of native plants, bumble bees play a key role in structuring ecosystems. They also deliver the ecosystem service of pollination to many crops, providing a substantial monetary benefit to US agriculture. These bees are negatively impacted by agriculture, climate change, and habitat loss, with one-quarter of species native to North America now threatened with extinction. California is a bee biodiversity hotspot, but systematic statewide surveys to document bumble bees have never been performed here. ​Launched in 2022, the California Bumble Bee Atlas is a community science collaboration filling this gap, with volunteers gathering non-lethal survey data around the state, identifying species in need of conservation, and assisting partners with recovery efforts. ​This talk, led by conservation biologist Leif Richardson, will describe the ecology and conservation of bumble bees, as well as the first year of results from the California Bumble Bee Atlas community science project.

At the heart of permaculture is designing new ecosystems that allow humans to thrive alongside all other living creatures. In this introductory discussion, we touch on how to use nature's principles to design thriving ecosystems, whether the scale of that is a quarter acre backyard or a hundred acre farm. Join for an overview of permaculture principles, an introduction to techniques for land restoration, and a few case studies from inspiring local projects. ​This webinar was led by Amy Scanes-Wolfe, lead facilitator with Boulder Permaculture, Director of Research for Drylands Agroecology Research, and permaculture homesteader.

PEER and other organizations, like PPAN, have expressed serious concerns about the failure of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect people and the environment from the dangers of pesticides. This webinar will provide insider perspectives on the ongoing failures of the EPA to “protect scientists from political interference and ensure they can think, research, and speak freely to provide valuable information and insights to the American people.” This webinar will also highlight why now is the time to push for immediate changes in the EPA's pesticide programs and why we must also seek protections at the state and local levels because federal protections are not adequate. Presenter Bio Tim Whitehouse, Executive Director, PEER Tim has more than 25 years of experience working on a wide range of environmental issues with governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. His interest is in the intersection of science, policy, and the civil service. He believes in protecting employees who raise concerns about their workplace and in exposing undue influence on government for private gain. Previously, Tim was a senior attorney at the EPA and was head of the Law and Policy Program at the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation in Montreal, Canada. He has worked as a consultant for companies on environmental compliance issues, and with nonprofit organizations focusing on clean energy issues. Most recently, he was executive director of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, a health advocacy group working to address climate change, toxics pollution, and nuclear disarmament issues. He holds a JD and BA from Emory University and an MA from New York University.

An engaging and informative look at garden care, maintenance, and ecosystem impacts for Fall and Winter seasons with an emphasis on cultivating healthy pollinator habitat in Colorado.