You Are Invited:
Create a Pollinator Garden at Our Office!
Saturday, October 12, 8:30a - 12:30p
312 N. Main St., Phoenix
We are excited to bee creating our very own pollinator frontscape that will be filled with native, drought-tolerant plants, AND,
a pollinator demonstration and teaching garden in the side yard!
Come help us spread mulch along the front bank, and move compost and
wood chips into the side yard.
Thanks again to the Ashland Food Co-op and their Community Grant Program for making this project possible!
Many thanks to Biomass One for their donation of wood chips and green mulch, Biologic Crop Solutions for the compost donation, Rays and Costco for organic snacks, and Hardy Seeds for the special watermelon!
Things to bring: hat, water, gloves, shovel or pitchfork, bucket, wheelbarrow, weeding tools.
See Facebook event and flyer below.
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An Amazing Organic Turf Management Training!
A BIG thank you goes to Chip Osborne of Osborne Organics and Jay Feldman of Beyond Pesticides for sharing their time, concerns, and game-changing information with cities, schools, and parks here in the Rogue Valley.
The result? The status quo is being reimagined.
On Wednesday, September 18, we co-hosted a day-long workshop with Chip and Jay for the landcare staff of the Cities of Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, and Jacksonville, as well as SOU, Phoenix-Talent Schools, Jackson County Parks, and Oak Knoll Golf Course!
Wow! Thanks to Lisa Arkin of Beyond Toxics for making this happen!
We all learned so much - why would anyone ever use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides again?
Thank you to: all the attendees for taking a day off work; City of Talent for the space; Ashland's Shop N Kart for providing a donation for breakfast items; the Medford Food Co-op for the yummy lunch; and Lend Me A Plate - reusable everything!!
See photos and video at this Facebook post.
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Support Our Non Toxic Roadsides Project!
Be A Volunteer/Complete a form/Sign Up for No-Spray!
We have been analyzing 12 months of spray records for our two counties.
Glyphosate and at least a dozen other toxic chemicals are being sprayed
along our county roads contaminating soil and water, harming pollinators, fish, and wildlife, as well drifting onto crops. We are encouraging our County Commissioners to hold a discussion session with experts on this crucial issue.
We need your help. We are seeking:
- Volunteers to help us with this project, an initiative shared with Beyond Toxics, for pesticide-free roads in Jackson and Josephine Counties - sign up here!
- Residents, businesses, and organizations to show support with this short form
- Volunteers to manage your own road frontage (ask Jackson or Josephine County to add you to their no-spray lists)
- Donations to help defray costs for publicity and printing.
See contact info below.
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We Are at the Conscious Living Fair!
Saturday, October 26, 10a - 5p
Ashland Hills Hotel, 2525 Ashland St., Ashland
We are thrilled to have been gifted a sponsorship for this premier event!
Come by our booth and talk to us about how to make your garden and landscape more pollinator friendly!
We'll have milkweed plants, pollinator seeds, and more, for sale.
Find details here, and see flyer below.
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Pollinator's Picks:
Soil: Not Another Climate Horror Story
Soil? What does that have to do with pollinators?
Everything, actually.
This video should be a required 7.5 minutes in the lives of every person on this planet. Guardian journalist Josh Toussaint-Strauss explains how soil is pretty remarkable stuff deserving of our attention!
Soil holds promising answers for reversing climate change - including being a
bigger carbon sink than all of the world's forests combined!
Please share!
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National Geographic: No Insects=No Birds
A new study published in Science and cited in a National Geographic
article reveals how neonicotinoids (AKA neonics) are directly contributing to songbird die-offs.
The populations of more than 75 percent of songbirds and other birds that rely on agricultural habitat in North America have significantly declined since 1966. No insects mean no birds, especially in the areas of the country where big ag is growing miles and miles of neonic-treated corn, wheat, and soy.
It's easy to make a difference with your dollar - read the label and choose to purchase organically-grown foods, especially those that contain corn, wheat, and soy.
And remember - 'non-gmo' does not mean pesticide-free!
Locally, plant native trees and shrubs that serve as food and host sites
for the caterpillars of the beautiful butterflies that are missing in action -
monarchs, swallowtails, California sisters, skippers, and more.
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A Better Pollinator Garden!
Our work party on September 28 at the Ashland Emergency Food Bank pollinator garden was a success! The garden looks refreshed, and ready for winter.
With the help of 6 wonderful volunteers, we mulched the beds and covered the paths with a thick layer of wood chips. Many thanks to Dana Biondo, Ann Cassilly, Catherine Katz, Lynn Kunstman, Kristina Lefever, and Alinda Whirley!
And to Shop N Kart for the snacks!
Bonus! Our garden now has 3 native Hall's asters, ready to welcome pollinators
in late summer and fall - thank you, Lynn and the Jackson County Master Gardener Association for your donation!
And, thank you, Lynn, for the on-the-spot lesson about asters: watch these short videos to some important differences between native vs non-native species!
Thanks again to the Ashland Food Co-op and their Community Grant Program for making this project possible!
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Bats as Pollinators
By Julia Babb for Pollinator Project Rogue Valley
We hear a good deal about bees, butterflies and hummingbirds as pollinators. But I have also heard about bats being pollinators, so I wondered if any of our Oregon bats were nectar eaters and could be considered “Pollineighbors”. An hour on the internet finally yielded an excellent list of 15 bats common (but endangered) in Oregon. They are all insect eaters, though--not nectar eating pollinators. Huh! Our bats couldn’t care less about nectar! Or flowers...or fruit…hmmmm.
But that doesn’t mean that our dear Oregon bats aren’t beneficial for our gardens and yards. Click here to read more!
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Volunteer Profile: Julia Babb
Office Coordinator Extraordinaire!
In the summer of 2018, Julia Babb was looking to develop a pollinator garden and a mutual friend put her in touch with Kristina Lefever at PPRV.
Julia jumped in and started tossing ideas around with Kristina.
Since that time, Julia has been involved in a host of administrative and office manager type of tasks. She helped move the office in February, created a written procedure manual, designed flyers, reconciled bills, assisted with tabling/ presentations and trained others. She was involved with getting Kristina featured on Rogue Valley Community Access TV on two occasions.
Currently, she is working to develop a volunteer engagement process to help bring new volunteers into the organization in an organized way.
"We have so appreciated and still appreciate Julia’s willingness to take the initiative and come up with better ideas and processes. PPRV is definitely the better because of her time and energy." -Kristina Lefever
See photo of Julia below.
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PPRV Seeks Volunteers!
Pollinator Project Rogue Valley is a fun place to volunteer!
Come help us get good things going with pollinators,
plants, gardens, (no) pesticides, and more!
Volunteer to write articles for this newsletter or our blog, table at events,
send letters to the editor about important issues, help with social media, and more.
We invite fun-loving, creative people to join our Events Committee
and to table at community events!
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
Thank you, Beyond Toxics, for sharing your office with us!
Office Hours: noon - 5 pm, Tuesday - Friday
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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10/8/19
