Nominations, Please!
We are honored to be the nonprofit of the month this April for the 'round-up at the register' programs at both the Medford Food Co-op and Ashland Food Co-op! What a great opportunity to share our From Fire to Flowers project --- but we need your help to get the word out!
Do you have friends or family members who were impacted by the fire and would like to receive two native pollinator plants in pretty pots? (See the next article for more about the pots!) Please share the simple nomination form here and aqui'.
Albeit a tiny gesture, we hope our gift will be meaningful for those who lost so much. We hope these plants will provide a bright spot for both people and pollinators during this time of transition, and will be included in a future pollinator garden. The plants, along with an info card, will be distributed in May.
Thank you to our friend Wanda Borland for capturing this video of PPRV President, Kristina Lefever, in the garden with an update about this project. Find more photos in this album.
Thank you for your support and help in bringing back the pollinators!
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Thank You, EcoForms!
by Caitlin Bishop
An important component in the emergence of our From Fire to Flowers initiative was the generous donation of 120 plant pots by EcoForms, a family-run business located in Northern California. EcoForms manufactures biodegradable planting pots made entirely from renewable grain fibers and plant by-products, as a more ecologically appropriate alternative to the traditional black plastic gardening pot that can be found in almost every plant lover’s shed or yard. Not only are these pots completely biodegradable, they are touted to last 5 years outdoors and 10 years indoors, are thaw and frost resistant, and are QUITE gorgeous to look at (personal opinion!). In doing some research about why the need for an alternative product, (keep reading here ....)
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Our Garden Guide is Here!
With photos and descriptions of the 30 native plant species growing in our pollinator garden, along with information about the pollinators they support, it will make a great accompaniment on your self-guided tour of the garden.
If you would like to order a copy, please fill out this short order form. Want to check it out first? Stop by and take a tour!
Many thanks to the dedication and good work of Pete Gonzalves for making this Garden Guide a reality!
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Bee-come a Bumble Bee Blitz-er!
Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 6:30p
We are pleased to be co-hosting this free, online crash course in local bumble bee and other native bee identification! Kristi Mergenthaler (Southern Oregon Land Conservancy) will help us get to know favorite fuzzy Bumble Bees in advance of the Bumble Bee Blitz at Vesper Meadow on June 27th. Then, Brian Dykstra (Humbolt University) will follow up with his passion for pollination biology and botany and introduce us to some of the native bees in the Cascade-Siskiyou areas. More information on Facebook and on the Vesper Meadow website. See you there!
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Welcome, Bee Sweet Blooms!
Saturday, May 1, Noon to 5pm
Big news! Deanna Mulaskey, owner of Bee Sweet Blooms, will soon be joining PPRV and Beyond Toxics in Suite B (we love it!) at The Pollination Place, 312 N. Main! Melodie Picard of The Oregon Cheese Cave knows how and when to celebrate - so, we are all having a party!
Click here to learn more about this free, outdoor May Day Block Party in Phoenix - with 11 co-hosts! See the flyer below. Of course, please follow Covid and social distancing guidelines, but all will mostly be outside.
Welcome, Deanna!
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Toss Your Toxins on May 8
Rogue Disposal is hosting their annual hazardous waste collection event again this year. From 8 am to 4:30 pm -- and no charge!
Tell your friends and family so we can get all those unwanted containers of drain cleaners, weed killers, bleach, household batteries, bug spray, and more out of basements, garages and sheds. Click here for more information.
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Pollinators' Pick
It's getting to be wasp season...... and time for a reminder that not all yellow and black flying insects are yellow jackets. In fact, probably the majority of wasps in our gardens and landscapes are not YJs. (YJs are primarily ground nesters, with LOTS of them in the nest!) We strongly encourage you to welcome paper wasps and other YJ look-a-likes (ie., honey bees, hover flies, thin-waisted wasps), as the beneficial insects they are for both veggie and pollinator gardens, or even no garden at all. Paper wasps are not aggressive to humans and provide excellent pest-eating services. Paper wasps have a different flight pattern than YJs, and much smaller families. They often build papery cone-shaped nests in the eves, which are usually knocked down in the fall by birds looking for the high-protein larvae.
Granted, YJs can be very problematic. If you do find a YJ nest, PLEASE do not use poison! There are many ways to remove a nest safely for you and the environment.
Here's an excellent short video to help with IDing those "yellow-stripey things".
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Please Support Our Work!
We continue to inspire, educate, and advocate for the pollinators and beneficial insects who pollinate the nutritious food crops we grow and enjoy, and the trees, shrubs, and flowers that beautify our Valley in so many ways.
We are grateful for your encouragement and support, and invite you to
make a financial contribution -- whether $3 or $3,000, it helps us get the work done! Thank you!
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PPRV Seeks Volunteers!
Volunteer with us!
How can you help us make our Valley a better place for pollinators and people?
We invite you to bee involved!
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Questions or Comments? Please contact us at
pollinator@pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org
Keep up to date with all things Pollinator on our Facebook page:
Pollinator Project Rogue Valley
Office Hours: noon - 4 pm, Tuesday - Friday, some Saturdays
and by appointment
312 N. Main St., Suite B, Phoenix
Mail: PO Box 242, Phoenix, OR 97535
458-214-0508
Visit our website.
Click here for archived editions of The Pollinator Times.
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4/26/21
