Save Our Native Bumblebees!: Why You Should Care and What You Can Do
Mennonite Church of Normal, 805 S Cottage Ave, Normal, IL, 61761 Map
Live Stream Available
Public Welcome Will be Recorded Free Event Chapter Meeting Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking Drinking Fountains
Note: This program will be presented both in-person and by livestream. A link to join the livestream will be posted here closer to the program date. A recording of the program will be available on our YouTube Channel.
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The non-native (and arguably, invasive) European Honeybee (Apis mellifera) gets a lot of attention because the species is reared here in North America for the purpose of pollinating crops and for the production of honey. Although native bumblebees are an integral component of our local ecosystems and are, also, important pollinators for a number of agriculturally important crops, they rarely get the appreciation they deserve. This is particularly concerning because research indicates that North American bumblebees face a multitude of threats and more than a quarter of native bumblebee species are facing some level of extinction risk, as a result. Join Dr. Sheri Glowinski for an exploration of bumblebee diversity, ecological importance, and conservation concerns – and, importantly, learn what YOU can do to promote the precious presence of our local native bumbles in your gardens.
Presenter Bio:
Sheri Glowinski has been an official Wild One for about 4 years but has been wild about native plants and ecosystems and their fauna for much longer. She developed my appreciation for native plants as an ecological restoration intern for McHenry County Conservation District in northern IL many years ago – and with that, has cut her share of common buckthorn, multiflora rose, and Japanese honeysuckle. Since then, she has lived throughout the U.S. and witnessed the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems (notably, kudzu in the south, ice plant in the west, and European frog-bit in Upper Michigan), and has aimed to spread the native plant love in each place she has lived. While her experience in McHenry County informed her personal passion for prairie plants, her education and experience since then (a PhD in biological sciences with an emphasis on conservation science and ornithology plus several backyard native gardens since) have informed her understanding that the health of our fauna (THINK: native bees, beetles, butterflies, birds and much more) are dependent on a fully functioning ecosystem that includes locally native plants. To that end, she is passionate about spreading the word that our yards, neighborhoods, parks, and beyond need native plants.