by Sam Inada, Pollinator Educator and Outreach Specialist | AmeriCorps Member Earlier this month, our Pollinator Pals education program had the opportunity to participate in the AMAZING Oregon Farm 2 School Conference! This is a biannual conference held at Oregon State University in Corvallis with the goal of connecting people in the Farm to School and environmental education communities. This includes classroom teachers, Farm to School educators, food producers, and non-profits like PPRV. Our team that attended included Ethan Robison, PPRV's Pollinator Pals coordinator; Sara Enriquez, an awesome member of our Education Committee: Kristina Lefever, PPRV’s president and Volunteer Director; and me, Sam, Pollinator Pals AmeriCorps member and Pollinator Educator and Outreach Specialist. On the surface, our education program might not necessarily be Farm to School related, but we found a lot of like-minded people who are also working toward building a happier, healthier future for the next generation, and learned a lot from other people doing amazing work. Plus, native pollinators are essential for many foods that we eat, not just native wildflowers! The day started with a keynote-presentation from Tahoma Peak Solutions, a Native Women-Owned firm that deals in a wide array of subjects such as Indigenous diversity equity and inclusion, cultural education, and food systems planning. Nora Frank-Buckner, their Director of Food Sovereignty, talked about indigenous foodways, and the possibilities of incorporating native foods into school curriculum. Sam – It was a pleasure getting to connect with and learn from a group of people that we would not have had the opportunity to otherwise. We got to see so many different perspectives and insights on what is possible in the classroom. Afterword, the four of us split up and went to different exciting and educational workshops that addressed a wide array of topics, including cultural sensitivity and inclusivity, how to create an authentic voice as an educator, and bees in Oregon agriculture, which was put on by Andony Melathopoulos, Associate Professor of Pollinator Health Extension at OSU. Throughout the day, we worked alongside other environmental educators, and each workshop gave us something unique to take home with us. Sara – Interacting with educators was so inspiring and fun. I enjoyed getting new perspectives on both the content and the strategies teachers are using to reach kids. Our Pollinator Pals Coordinator, Ethan Robison, had the opportunity to share about the work that Pollinator Pals is doing in a 7-minute Lightning Talk. In the talk, he emphasized Pollinator Pals philosophy of getting kids interested in and excited about local plants and pollinators, and how learning about them is the first step in protecting them. The talk was well received, and it seemed like people were excited to see the unique perspective that Pollinator Pals brought to the conference. Sam had his hands full with sharing our Pollinator Scavenger Hunt and Pollinator Count activities with all the teachers in the room. Ethan – Seeing so many people interested in our education materials was really inspiring. I'm so happy that Oregon educators are interested in teaching about native plants and pollinators. Throughout the day, we had a table to share our Pollinator Pals lesson plans, activities, and kits that we have been developing, and got people excited about the idea of incorporating native plant and pollinator lesson plans into their school garden curriculum. We gave away sets of our Pollinator Scavenger Hunt cards and Pollinator Count activities, which Ethan highlighted and shared copies of during his talk. We had many great conversations at the table, received feedback on lesson plans, learned about other cool things people are doing, and gave people important information and resources on pollinator education that they could take home and implement in their schools. The reception to Pollinator Pals at our table and at Ethan’s Lightning Talk made it clear that Pollinator Pals is contributing something to the school gardens community. See more photos from the conference in our album here. The farm to school community does incredible work getting kids in touch with nature, and giving them the tools to live healthy lives, but, because many food crops are nonnative, there is not a lot of emphasis on the native plants that are crucial to our local ecosystems, as well as food systems. We felt lucky to both learn from the farm to school community about things we can incorporate into Pollinator Pals, and also contribute something of value to them. Kristina – It was wonderful to see all the energy around creating community to grow healthy food with young people! And really awesome to see the enthusiastic response to the critical pollinator component for our food systems and ecosystems as well! Going to the conference was a big step for us, and coming back, we are inspired to continue thinking of new ways to help our planet and the next generation. Thank you to Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation, Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, and The Carpenter Foundation, as well as United Communities AmeriCorps, for giving us this opportunity to grow alongside our community. Want to learn more about our Pollinator Pals program? Visit our website here.

Tiina Beaver and Vanessa Henson showing Steve and Lisa all the tiny bees on the Hall's Aster, 3 1/2 months after the garden was planted, September 2023. Click the photo to see our photo album of the garden's transformation. by Erin Keller, PPRV Pollinteer February 2024 “It’s people that make the program happen, and it’s people that the program is for. Ultimately, the program benefits all of us.” Kristina Lefever, President, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley “As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” Robin Wall-Kimmerer Sometimes it all comes together. All of it. Sometimes the right people are in the right place, at the right time, and they create inspiration for each other – and the result is something that none of them could have imagined without the others. That is the From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Garden (FFFPG) program in a nutshell. It isn’t all happy or easy, though. Not at all. The FFFPG program was born from the traumatic losses created by the Almeda fire of 2020. While many of us were looking for ways to be helpful, Pollinator Project Rogue Valley (PPRV) was developing a plan to help not only those who lost their homes, but ultimately to help all of us who depend on the native pollinators that are critical to our local ecosystem. During the past months, I’ve written two articles about the FFFPG program. (Please click to read Part 1 and Part 2.) The process has been awe-inspiring, and made me want to know more about the people who created and sustain the program, so I arranged to speak with several of them, and hope to share a bit of those conversations here. What came through is that each of them operates from their hearts, in their own ways. Each of them believes in the healing power of nature, beauty, listening and community. Importantly, each  one is motivated to, and believes that we can, make a positive impact on our ecosystem. You may already know that the FFFPG program does good for so many beings - native plants, pollinators, fire-impacted homeowners, students, volunteers, community members and the ecosystem. So, it makes sense that it takes special people to make it all happen. Finding special people is a gift that President Kristina Lefever knows she has, and that she is consciously developing. Kristina has a gift for listening to potential volunteers with her heart, and letting it guide her as she finds what fits between the individual, and the mission of PPRV. She is aware that when she approaches conversations with volunteers in this way, she is seeking to attract and retain truly dedicated individuals who know that they are making a positive difference. Such was the case when PPRV Vice President and FFFPG team member, Arti Kirch, came to visit for the first time. As Arti describes that first meeting, she was new to the Rogue Valley, having moved here during the lock-down phase of the pandemic, and she was eager to make connections with like-minded people. Arti had spent much of the previous decade in California, immersed in propagating Mediterranean-climate  plants, as well as edible garden starts, and educating the public about these processes. After hours in conversation with Kristina, Arti left as a dedicated PPRV “Pollinteer” and a soon-to-be Board member. Sometimes lovingly referred to as PPRV’s native plant geek, Arti spends a lot of time in the propagation nursery that partially supplies plants for FFFPG gardens. Arti’s reverence for plants runs deep. She states, “plants are practically the only beings capable of making their own food, and everything else depends on them - pollinators, herbivores and every other being.” As such, she finds great value in being part of, and supporting, the FFFPG program. Vanessa Henson and Tiina Beaver are the FFFPG program coordinators. Collaboratively, they ensure that the gardens happen, including making initial contact with the garden recipients (called “gardeners”), sending, receiving and reviewing the application, scheduling the initial meeting, creating a garden design and presenting it to gardeners, setting dates for sheet mulching and garden install, ordering materials, organizing volunteers, and overseeing the installations. Both of them combine compassionate, empathetic listening with technical know-how, to create a richly rewarding process for gardeners, as well as volunteers. FFFPG Garden Coordinator, Vanessa Henson, is a life-long resident of the Rogue Valley and very much  invested in her community. On the day of the Almeda fire, she and her husband were successful in their fight to save their newly-purchased home. However, her husband was not able to save their friend’s home, despite his significant effort and risk to his safety. The next morning, their excavation company, C3 Enterprise, was the first on site for the clean up, employing local young people, whose families had just lost their homes, giving them a way to begin to rebuild. Vanessa’s family continues to support their community in meaningful ways. Dedication to her community and access to excavation equipment are only part of what Vanessa brings to the FFFPG team. Vanessa has an intuitive sense about how to connect with people who have recently lost so much. She muses that this may be, in part, because she experienced some of the same events and losses, or it may just be her way of being. In any case, Vanessa is keenly aware of the importance of listening, as a crucial first step in the process, to help gardeners feel supported and to learn what each gardener's hopes, capabilities and priorities are for their new pollinator garden. Tiina Beaver is the FFFPG Program Coordinator. Tiina has her own remarkable set of gifts, combining expertise as a landscape designer with the healing modalities of reiki and forest bathing. Tiina brings an understanding of the impacts of trauma, from experiences in her own life, as well as the lives of some of her family members. She is transforming the pain of these experiences into a desire to provide healing for others. Tiina states that at this time, her three life-long interests are coming together: garden design, the healing power of nature, and our bodies’ innate ability to heal. As Program Coordinator, Tiina quietly goes about creating a garden plan that incorporates the wishes and needs of the gardener, as well as the site’s own requirements. She believes this will increase the gardener's interest in being in the garden and receiving the healing benefits. Tiina also has the knowledge to work with the needs of the plants, its growth habits, size and shape, bloom time, and its benefit to pollinators and the ecosystem. It is no wonder that gardeners have been so pleased with their gardens. Another person helping to increase the impact of the FFFPG program is Dr. Chhaya Werner, plant ecologist and professor of environmental science at SOU. Dr. Werner is interested in the process of regeneration following disturbances, such as fire or flooding. The environmental losses of the Almeda fire provides not only an opportunity for her students to study regeneration, but also to lend a hand to people who lost their homes, and to help the environment. Dr. Werner’s students come on site to learn about the soil, sun/shade, irrigation requirements and more, observe communication between the Garden Coordinators and gardeners, and then create their own proposed garden design. Following a discussion about the designs in relation to the site, students “get dirty”with sheet mulching and/or garden installation activities. Dr. Werner notes that fire provides the perfect opportunity for native plants to regenerate the landscape. Since the open land also is an opportunity for invasives, even small projects like the FFFPG gardens help ensure that natives win out, at least part of the time. She notes that she is excited to watch how the gardens will look in a few years as they fill in. As you might imagine, it takes many people to complete each garden, and everyone of them is so important and appreciated. Pollinteers provide physical labor to make the gardens happen, as well as the technical skills, such as creating  the Garden Guide provided to each gardener. Kristina had this to say about the team, “Just what would we do without them!? Everyone is just amazing!” She notes that all together, PPRV works with about 40 Pollinteers, some who volunteer weekly, and others only a couple times per year, but it all adds up, and it all matters. Pollinteer Sue Fthenakis described her FFFPG experience this way, “I had a wonderful time working with PPRV as we installed a garden in Maureen’s front yard. It was really rewarding to be part of a team working together to accomplish such a good project. There was a well prepared plan, the materials and tools were all on-site, and everyone cooperated beautifully. By the end of the day, the yard was transformed from a flat, weedy, unappealing space to a contoured, interesting landscape, populated with pollinator friendly plants ready to blossom into a beautiful space as the things get established. I came home in a really good mood that day.” FFFPG gardens are only possible with gifts from caring and supportive partners, such as Koenig Investment Advisory and Plant Oregon. LorrieAnne Miller of Koenig Investment Advisory had this to say about supporting the FFFPG program, “Koenig Investment Advisory is proud to support PPRV and its dedicated volunteers, especially for the From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Garden program. We’ve been impressed with this organization's ability to reach out to many sectors of the community, from childhood education programs to fun events with Unete and helping fire survivors establish healthy gardens in their rebuilt homes. PPRV not only cares about planting native plants to support the environment, but also to support the people who live within these environments. This is a great group of folks to work with in the common cause of making the Rogue Valley a nurturing place to live.” Jenny of Plant Oregon shared these important words, “Supporting Pollinator Project Rogue Valley is crucial for the well-being of our environment and the preservation of pollinators. Their efforts in educating the community and nurturing pollinators are truly commendable. Together, we can make a positive impact on our planet.” Feeling inspired to be a part of or to support this important work? There are multiple ways and opportunities! Every donation, large or small, makes a difference! Pollinteers are always needed, whether working in the gardens, or behind the scenes. Visit our website to learn more, see photos of garden transformations, and find contact information to Bee Involved. We depend on community support! Your tax-deductible donation helps us get the work done! Consider a monthly donation! Make a donation online or mail a check to 312 N. Main St, Suite B, Phoenix, OR 97535

by Ethan Robison Pollinator Pals Education Coordinator 2023 was the first full year of PPRV’s youth education program: Pollinator Pals. With the help of many volunteers, we have accomplished so much. For a brief rundown, check out our year-end report here. In this article, you’ll find some of the highlights of Pollinator Pals over the past year. Since I am a sucker for organization, I’ve decided to break it up by seasons. As an added bonus, I’ll also throw in some pollinator facts along the way! These will also be organized by season, just for fun. Please take a moment to reflect on the past year of Pollinator Pals with me! Winter: January-February 2023 Even while the baby bees and butterflies were sleeping amidst the fallen foliage, we were hard at work. Teaching during this time of year can often prove difficult due to the apparent lack of life outside, so the classes we did were all indoors. This didn’t stop us from pointing out that the winter landscape is actually littered with life - it’s just buried within “dead” plants or underneath the leaves. During this time of year, pollinators are (for the most part) in their larva or pupa stage. Cavity nesting bees can be found in hollowed-out plant stems that may seem dead from the outside, but in truth are a cozy home for a growing pollinator. Butterflies will usually spend their winter underneath the leaves of fallen plants as a caterpillar or chrysalis, hence the popular “Leave the leaves” movement. In our first class of the year, Kristina and I presented at Armadillo Technical Academy (now Armadillo Community Charter School), and taught two classes of students about native plants. This lesson focused on the amazing diversity of native plants in riparian ecosystems, and how pollinators depend on them not just for food, but for shelter as well. Even indoors, we managed to teach students the basics of Simple Random Sampling and using real-world surveying techniques to measure populations! Two of our Education Committee members, Sue and Sara, are adapting this lesson into a kit that will be available on our website! Another class of this season was “Love Your Mason Bees”, where we ran a webinar on, well, Mason Bees! Kristina and I spoke about how you can create overwintering habitat for these spectacular builders, and how to provide food for the adults once they wake up. Spring: March-May Spring is (of course) the busiest time of year for us Pollinator-Educators. So to start things off, we held our biggest class of the year at Bellview Elementary School in Ashland. In about 3 hours, we crammed in mini-lessons on native plants, gardening, flower biology, and pollinator anatomy. Intrepid members of the Education Committee, Sara, Kristina, Hannah, and Pete all ran stations, guiding kids through different outdoor activities. My favorite part of the day was showing students how to use a microscope, and seeing the world open up before their eyes. The growing Pollinator Pals curriculum is aimed at 3rd - 5th graders because that tends to be an important time in the life of a student. At this point, they are seeing the world in new ways. Similarly, the most important part in a Bumble Bee Queen’s life is early spring. During this season, the long-slumbering queens emerge from their overwintering site, and begin collecting pollen and nectar from the early blooming flowers. One such flower is Oregon Grape, our state flower here in Oregon. Next year, we plan on bringing students their own Oregon Grape plants so they can welcome the Bumble Bee Queens. One of the biggest events of the year is Earth Day, when we have the chance to talk to hundreds of students. PPRV was invited to table at both SOU's Earth Day and Phoenix Industrial Studio's Earth Day celebrations. At both of these, our volunteers got into the groove talking with parents about the finer details of native-plant gardening, and then flipping around to teach kids all about our marvelous pollinators! This was the first major event where the Education Committee planned out activities and mini-lessons for kids. Check out our photo album from the SOU Earth Day event here to see kids and parents alike having fun with pollinator quizzes and games. Summer: June-August Early on in summer, we were invited to visit with the students at the Medford Montessori. Kristina read the book “ Am I Even a Bee?” by Felicity Muth. This story talks about how all bees are very different in some ways, but all alike in other ways. While our program tends to focus on older students, we love to connect with kindergarten and pre-k students whenever we can. This is because environmental education is often focused on the negative impacts humans are having on the environment. However, we find it important to foster a sense of joy and wonder about the ecosystem. It’s difficult to care about the wonders of the world when your first introduction to them is all about how they’re disappearing and in danger! So while we find it important to teach people about how they can care for the pollinators in the world, we also think it’s important to teach people to care about them first. Speaking of young kids, Summer is the time of year when pollinators of all kinds - bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, wasps, and even birds - are making babies! With bountiful pollen and nectar resources, pollinators are able to devote their time and energy towards collecting food and laying eggs. If their habitat is left undisturbed, some pollinators are able to put together their nests. Some do so underground, like Digger and Bumble Bees, or in tall trees/shrubs like hummingbirds or Mason Bees. Just like kids, pollinators need the room and resources to grow. Towards the end of the season, we put on a class at the Jacksonville Community Center. We were elated to be joined by guest speakers, Lynn Kunstman and Dee Himes. Lynn ran an activity to show families the diverse native plants around the community center. Dee generously gave an entire presentation about how to take stunning pictures of insects with just your phone. And I explained how and why to use iNaturalist to identify and map the plants and pollinators you capture on our phone. These small events and lessons tend to create some of our most heartfelt relationships with the community. Fall: September-November As it cools down outside, we start moving a little bit slower. Just kidding. Fall is a pretty busy time of year for pollinators and for the Pollinator Pals. Starting off strong, we had the privilege of creataing an exhibit for the Grants Pass Art Museum. Their concurrent theme of “Living in the Anthropocene” focused on the impacts of humans on the environment. Our corner of the Museum did show information on the decline of pollinators, but our main focus was on how humans can help fight against that trend. With the help of volunteer Lexi Rogers, we built a model pollinator garden, showing off how you can create beautiful pollinator habitat all year long. That piece is still on display in our office. In addition to the exhibit, we ran an event where families got to build their own model pollinator gardens. Saving the native pollinators starts with learning, and these kids did just that! We can only hope that students of all ages take these lessons home, and someday work to adapt their own environments to be shared with native critters. As I hinted at earlier, one way you can help the bees is by “leaving the leaves” and maintaining some undisturbed habitat for the creatures nesting out of sight. The fact that avoiding yard work is one of the best ways to support pollinators is one of my favorite things to tell people. Nesting sites is a major component of pollinator habitat, but food is also important. Late-blooming flowers are valuable assets to the cold resistant pollinators like flies. Even though your garden might slow down, there is still life going on, you just have to look close and be patient. As we passed into the extra-rainy part of fall, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to teach at the beautiful The Crest at Willow-Witt. On a cold, rainy morning, Sam Inada (our new AmeriCorps member) and I introduced students to a bunch of bumble bees sleeping inside flowers in the garden. Bees (of all species) can't fly when it is too cold, usually below 45 degrees. Since male bumble bees don’t have nests to go to, they get to sleep in flowers! So the weather gave us the amazing opportunity to see about 8 bees peacefully awaiting the sun. Seeing everyone’s heart melt over sleeping bees was absolutely adorable. Afterwards, students examined pollinators, seeds, and plant parts under the microscope, and then made seed balls in the barn. This class was a wonderful experience for us! Winter: December If you’re reading this blog shortly after we share it, then you can bet that we’re hard at work in the office, developing lesson plans, activities, kits, and events for 2024. The pollinators we love to look at are (for the most part) resting and growing, just like us. Of course we’ve had a couple of classes and events, but for the most part, we are taking a step back to reflect on the past year, and plan for the future. Honestly, I can’t wait to show all of you some of the amazing things we have planned for 2024. We’re creating new materials, like a core pollinator-curriculum for elementary school students, but also looking back at the lessons and events we’ve done and thinking about how to improve them. Wish us luck! Closing Remarks I’ve certainly rambled on long enough, so I’ll make my ending brief. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that all of this progress wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without the ever-present help of our amazing Education Committee. Throughout this crazy year they have been consistently helpful by providing guidance, experience, know-how, and dedication. I would like to offer a sincere thank you to: Hannah Borgerson, Pete Gonzalves, Sam Inada, Sara Enriquez, and Sue Fthenakis, and of course, my boss, Kristina Lefever. I also extend a heartfelt thank you to all of PPRV’s other volunteers, community partners, and funders - especially those who are partnering with us to make our Pollinator Pals program possible! But none of this would be possible without the village PPRV has built up over the years, and personally, I have no idea what I would be doing besides this. So without further ado, our team here at PPRV wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday season! I can’t wait to see you next year!

by Erin Keller, PPRV Pollinteer December 2023 Pollinator Project Rogue Valley’s From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Garden (FFFPG) program is restoring the community after the devastating impacts of the 2020 Almeda Fire. The FFFPG team contributes to community support, engagement, and education, all while creating beautiful pollinator gardens. This article, a follow-up to Part 1, introduces a few of the amazing people who have participated in the program, and who kindly shared a bit of their experience. When Stella Kennedy’s home, garden and neighborhood in Phoenix were all destroyed by the Almeda Fire, she felt overwhelmed by the traumatic losses. She was shocked, displaced, and deeply grieving. When Stella was eventually able to return to her re-built home, 10 months later, she was greeted by yet another disappointment. Her new yard was, as she described it, “barren, dead and lifeless.” The ground was smothered with landscape fabric, which was covered in bark, and the plants were completely devoid of color or flowers--two things Stella had specifically asked for from the landscaping company she had employed. As such, this barren landscape felt like another devastating blow. With that in mind, what happened next seems like nothing short of a miracle. Anyone who spends a few minutes with Stella will see that she is a vibrant person who loves color, and values all living things. PPRV’s President, Kristina Lefever, happened to meet Stella when she was visiting the pollinator garden at The Pollination Place in Phoenix, and “was immediately taken with her pain, and desire for a real garden”. According to Stella, things happened quickly after that. The FFFPG team first worked with Stella to learn about her garden preferences and priorities. Then, they created a garden plan. And finally, they removed the troublesome landscape fabric. Soon, the garden was planted, and Stella was surrounded by color. Stella reports that having flowers bloom in her yard was life-giving! “I was going to sell this house. It felt dead.” Now, Stella enjoys going out to her garden every day. She finds that the weeding and tending are grounding, and looking for new seedlings and blossoms provides her with hope. Stella also describes the FFFPG process as uplifting, exclaiming, “the people! Oh my gosh, the sweetest people! They worked hard, and got so excited when the new plants did well!” Stella believes that all of this has helped her to heal following the fire. She states, “I’m amazed at what I’ve learned about native pollinators, and it feels good to inspire others to have pollinator gardens also.” Stella isn’t alone in her appreciation of the program. Lisa and Steve Bergum, previous residents of Creekside Estates in Phoenix who returned after the fire, had this to say after receiving a FFFPG garden: “We feel your team did a fantastic job of making our native plant design and you all were so accommodating and taught us what we needed to learn for the future growth of our garden. It was and will be a memorable moment in making our new home beautiful. It was an enjoyable experience, and we will continue planting pollinator plants.” Another local impacted by the Almeda Fire is Mike Skinner, owner of Bear Creek Mobile Home Park in Ashland. Having owned this hidden gem of a park for almost 30 years, Mike lost both his business and his way of life in a matter of hours. After the fire, it was an entire day before he was able to get back into the park to check on his business and the park residents, some of whom had physical limitations that made escape from the fire particularly difficult. Photo from Rising from the ashes: From Fire to Flowers program offers free gardens for Almeda survivors, 9.8.23, Ashland.news Out of 70 homes, all but three were destroyed, and residents were dispersed to local hotels, or further away. It would be six months before FEMA began cleaning-up the burned rubble, and a year before the first home returned. Three years later, the park is about 60% full, with many previous residents returning to this unique location nestled along Bear Creek, working to reclaim some of what they lost. Bear Creek Mobile Home park is ideal for the FFFPG program. Many of the residents might not be able to install gardens on their own, and might not yet know the importance of native plants. Moreover, because the park is positioned along the Bear Creek corridor, it is perfect for increasing pollinator habitat and connectivity and furthering PPRV’s Rogue Buzzway mapping project! To date, four park residents have received new pollinator gardens and another four are scheduled in the coming months. This is hopeful for Mike, a landscaper himself. He observed that “landscaping makes the house a home.” He states that “many (residents) are former tenants who are still suffering. To see that people who have lost so much are getting this help - it's a comfort.” The FFFPG program is also helping restore the community through engagement and education. Dr. Chhaya Werner’s SOU EcoAdventure class participated in creating multiple pollinator gardens at the Bear Creek Mobile Home Park, the second class to come this park to be learn about and be part of fire restoration in the urban area. Student Emily Cochran explains that she and her classmates were involved in several aspects. They interacted with the homeowner, learning their gardening preferences and goals. They helped to design the gardens, and to prepare the space with sheet mulching. Later, they helped with the actual installation of the new garden. One of Emily’s favorite parts was providing the homeowner with information about the native plants they were planting. She found this rewarding, because she could see that the homeowner now understood how each plant benefits the ecosystem. “They are more likely to stick with a pollinator garden, and to tell friends and neighbors about it.” Emily also enjoyed the social aspects of participating. “Being with other people who are excited about it is great. Also, because you’re out in nature, and it's an eco-project at the landscape level, you’re doing a lot more good than you even realize.” Per Emily, “it’s great connectivity. It helps the individual, and the greater ecology.” One of the gardens that the EcoAdventure class participated in creating was Kim and Chris Anglin’s. Kim’s comments about her garden are, “[W]e couldn’t be more pleased and excited with our beautiful pollinator garden. Thank you all so much for your beautiful work and generosity.” During 2023, the FFFPG team, led by Co-Coordinators Tiina Beaver and Vanessa Henson, designed and installed five gardens, increasing the total number to 11. As of now, six more gardens are on the schedule for 2024. To see photos of the gardens' transitions, from start to finish, and learn more about PPRV's unique From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Garden program, visit our website here. Watch for interviews with volunteers and the program team in the coming weeks. Support, engagement, education and new pollinator gardens – the FFFPG program does so much! Kristina says, “We truly depend on the generosity of donors, sponsors and partners to continue this program! We are inviting additional sponsors and contributors to be a part of this important work and to help us grow the program.” Would your business, organization, or school like to be involved? Would you like to make a donation, become a sponsor, or provide a service? Visit the FFFPG webpage to learn more and Bee Involved! A Skipper butterfly on Oregon Sunshine in Stella's garden

by Erin Keller, PPRV Pollinteer November 2023 Pollinator Project Rogue Valley’s From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Garden (FFFPG) program helps restore the community and ecology in many ways! It fulfills the need for beautiful gardens for neighbors impacted by fire, gives community members a way to support those who lost their homes and gardens, educates about the importance of native plants and pollinators, provides learning opportunities for students, contributes to the connectivity of native habitats, provides critical food and habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, and adds to the amazing PPRV Buzzway program. Whew! That’s a lot of restoration from just one program! Excerpt from the From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Garden webpage As a result of the Almeda and Obenchain fires of 2020, a large number of community members lost their homes as well as their gardens. As they rebuild, many are not in a position to create new gardens, and may not be aware of the need for, and benefits of, pollinator gardens. That’s when Kristina Lefever, President of Pollinator Project Rogue Valley (PPRV) envisioned the FFFPG program. In this vision, recipients would help create their new, native-plant pollinator gardens, for little to no cost! Even more amazing, the gardens would be designed and installed by talented landscape designers. Community members and schools would be involved and receive hands-on learning, while helping people and habitat recover after the fires. Dr. Chhaya Werner's SOU EcoAdventure class helping design the Anglin's garden Importantly, this program would support the 'Rogue Buzzway', increasing and restoring pollinator populations by creating a native-plant, pollinator corridor through the Rogue Valley – eventually connecting to the Cascade Siskiyou Monument. The Rogue Buzzway map, interactive and continuously updated, created in partnership with SOU's GIS department Although it was an ambitious vision, the need was great, and the potential benefits even greater. Fast forward a couple years, and the FFFPG program is going strong and making a real difference thanks to our skilled and dedicated team! To complete each garden, the PPRV team first meets with fire-impacted homeowners, providing information on the importance of native pollinator gardens and clarifying the homeowner’s goals. Then, Tiina Beaver and Vanessa Henson, PPRV’s FFFPG Coordinators, help residents create a plan that will be sustainable and manageable over the long-term. Next, as appropriate, PPRV Pollinteers and community members apply sheet mulching for soil improvement and weed suppression. When the sheet mulch is sufficiently decomposed, the team reassembles with native plants, tools, and equipment, and creates a new pollinator garden! Maureen's garden before and after To top it off, homeowners are also provided with a customized garden guide with instructions and information to help them learn about and maintain their new gardens. Andi being presented with her garden's Garden Guide by Vanessa To date, 11 homeowners have participated in the program, and more than 350 native plants have been planted, representing more than 125 native species. As of November 2023, the FFFPG program has 6 gardens on the docket for the next 6 months. This program depends on the amazing work of our Polllinteers, and the funding and support from the community! Pollinteers finishing Tom and Melissa's garden - Melissa is in the red hat The Gordon Elwood Foundation generously provided some initial funding and encouragement, and we so appreciate donations from both ACCESS and Indigo Creek Outfitters. Plant Oregon is a huge supporter, providing donated and/or deeply discounted native shrubs, trees, and flowering plants, as does Shooting Star Nursery. C3 Enterprise and Constant Gardener bring expertise, equipment, coordination, and guidance to the program and for the gardens. We truly depend on the generosity of donors, sponsors and partners to continue this program! We are inviting additional sponsors and contributors to be a part of this important work and to help us grow the program. Would your business, organization, or school like to be involved? Would you like to make a donation, become a sponsor, or provide a service? Visit the FFFPG webpage and sign up! To learn more about how our From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Gardens program, the gardens, and the community benefit, watch for personal interviews with FFFPG program participants in the next installment of this series. Thank you to Mountain Rose Herbs for sponsoring our native plant nursery and plant sales, and to Southern Oregon Subaru, for providing support for our gardens!

By Anna Ehlers, PPRV Summer 2023 Intern As fall begins, we notice many things: cloudy days, cooler temperatures, and increased rainfall. How can we use these conditions to our advantage when planting our pollinator garden? Planting in the fall provides many benefits: Reduced occurrence of transplant shock More water via rainfall Warm soil temperatures Warm days, cool nights Plants shift their energy towards root growth What is Transplant Shock? Transplant shock occurs when a plant is being moved into a new environment and can cause symptoms such as: wilting, poor root growth, leaf discoloration, stunted growth, or death of the plant. Due to the cooler conditions in the fall, the issues caused by transplant shock may be reduced since the plant is going into dormancy. What is Dormancy? A period of time where the plant conserves energy and doesn't produce foliage or roots. The plant ‘falls asleep’ during the cold winter months and ‘wakes up’ in the warm spring months. Dormancy is induced when there are consistent cold temperatures and shorter days. The Main Takeaway: Root establishment in the fall better prepares the plants for the spring by establishing a strong root system before the plant enters dormancy. With the roots well established, the plant is ready to start putting more energy to growing foliage when spring starts. How to Plant Your New Plant Dig a hole! Make sure it's deep enough that the roots can sit in comfortably. The crown of the plant (the bottom of the stem before the roots start) should sit right at soil level, or just a little above if you are planning to add mulch around the plant. Loosen the roots! Loosening the roots encourages them to grow outwards, beyond the shape of the original container. You can do that by gently massaging the root ball. If the roots are growing in a circular pattern, ‘root bound’, additional pressure may be needed to separate the roots. If any of the roots are squishy or dead, they need to be removed before planting. Note: some native shrubs, like manzanitas and madrones, do NOT want to have their roots touched. Put your plant in the hole! Place your plant in the center of the hole and fill in dirt on all sides of the plant. Be sure to move the soil around to fill in any air pockets, and pat the soil in place, but not enough to compact the soil - air and water need to be able to move through. If the plant is unable to hold itself up, you may need a deeper hole or a support structure to keep the plant upright. Roots have been separated after being removed from the container Plant in the hole with crown visible at the soil line Soil has been filled in around the plant What should you do after planting your new plant? Give your plant a good drink! The plant needs to adjust to its new environment, and giving it lots of water will help it adjust. Water slowly to make sure the water spreads throughout the root ball. Make sure that the soil is wet to the touch in the area surrounding the roots. If the surrounding soil remains dry, it will stress the plant. Give your plant a blanket! Covering the area around your plant with wood chips or fine gravel will provide a layer of protection from the elements. The cover regulates the soil temperature and can keep the soil warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, allowing for roots to continue growing. Wood chips degrade over the course of years and in doing so, add nutrients to the soil. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the crown of the plant. Give your plant a haircut! Trimming old leaves helps the plant focus its energy on growing roots. With fewer leaves, the plant will be less stressed because it won’t be using its energy to keep the foliage alive while also adjusting to a new environment. So get out there and plant native plants this fall, and look forward to a beautiful garden for the pollinators this spring! Happy planting! Looking for more ideas and resources? Find our plant lists and favorite garden resources here. Check out our plant and garden videos here. Find our garden guides, seeds, and more here. Learn more about our upcoming Native Plant Sale for the Pollinators here.

by Kristina Lefever, PPRV President Anne was a regular volunteer with PPRV for more than a year, showing up almost every Wednesday to work in the nursery or garden ~ weeding, pruning, whatever. She was also helpful as we got started again with our Rogue Buzzway mapping project, and she also contributed to design ideas with some of the gardens for our From Fire to Flowers Pollinator Gardens program. Anne must be credited with much of the redo of our demonstration garden this past spring. She researched ideas for additional plants, helped select the species, gave great guidance on placement based on mature size, went to Plant Oregon and Shooting Star to get them, dug the holes, planted and watered them. And, helped get rid of those 2 mugo pines out front! What a shock to learn of her illness...... and then that she was no longer in the world she loved. Anne loved her gardens at home, volunteering at PPRV and the Master Gardener's Plant Clinic, her home with Jan, taking walks, cooking good food and sharing it with others. Jan, Anne's husband, told us: Remember Anne as a caring person who loved plants, gardening and life in general. Anne, we miss you. Click here to see a small photo album of Anne, PPRV Pollinteer. Deb Vroman, a PPRV Pollinteer who sometimes worked with Anne, shared this beautiful poem after learning of Anne's passing. This morning, thinking of Anne... this poem came to rest in my heart with memories of her beautiful spirit...& her smile! Adrift by Mark Nepo Everything is beautiful and I am so sad. This is how the heart makes a duet of wonder and grief. The light spraying through the lace of the fern is as delicate as the fibers of memory forming their web around the knot in my throat. The breeze makes the birds move from branch to branch as this ache makes me look for those I’ve lost in the next room, in the next song, in the laugh of the next stranger. In the very center, under it all, what we have that no one can take away and all that we’ve lost face each other. It is there that I’m adrift, feeling punctured by a holiness that exists inside everything. I am so sad and everything is beautiful.

Interview by Arti Kirch, PPRV Vice President PPRV is blessed to have many wonderful volunteers. We'd like to introduce you to one of them - Deb Vroman. Deb has been a volunteer since June 2021 and in that time has donated an unbelievably generous 506 hours of her time to PPRV. Deb primarily manages the watering all of our nursery plants. The importance of that responsibility cannot be overstated. Not only do the plants need water, but they need the right amount at the right time. As Deb waters, she takes careful note of which plants are doing well or which need food or which have outgrown their containers, etc. I guess that's why we call the place where you grow plants a nursery -- they need care and Deb serves it up in huge proportion Here are some other comments from an interview with her, edited for space considerations. "I found PPRV at a point in my life when I was looking to build community. I had retired and wasn't looking to go back to work or be in some heavily structured situation. I saw Christine (who used to run the PPRV office) tabling at an event PPRV was participating in. I had seen PPRV's table at another event and thought, well, this is the second time I am noticing them so this must be a sign. It was like a "wow" moment of connection. Christine and I really hit it off and when I asked what PPRV needed the first thing that Christine said was "weeding". I have always loved gardening and being in nature which offers me a place to be, like coming home. But I really enjoy weeding -- it is so meditative and rewarding. And the truth is that I needed something that needed me just as much. PPRV is a magnet for like-minded people and I feel like I have a new family in the other volunteers. We have all come together for a purpose, even in the face of challenges to the success of that purpose and even despite challenges in our personal lives. PPRV is also a well-spring of learning new things. Like, first you discover bees and then that they need certain plants and then those plants they pollinate make seeds for the birds. The connections are mind-boggling. I also love the vibe of the PPRV plant sales. It is thrilling to experience the synchronicity of meeting even more people who care about the planet...we are not alone! PPRV for me is like a canvas of opportunity - to discover, to grow, to be who I am and who I am becoming." Thank you, Deb, for all you do. It's an honor to know and work with you.

by Ethan Robison Showing off ceanothus moth cocoons and chrysali Hey y’all, it has been a wild 11 months here at PPRV. From the very first day, it has been a fairly constant race from one event, class, or workshop to another. Since September, I have had the chance to develop the Pollinator Pals program here at PPRV, and lead our Education Committee in some exciting directions. All in all, it has been a spectacular year, and I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to learn, create, and grow. A walk-in customer wanting to know more about our microscope I learned about PPRV's Pollinator Education & Outreach Specialist position through Jamie Trammel, a wonderful professor at SOU. I thought that the combination of education and bugs was the most amazing sounding work I could be doing. Fast forward a month or two, and I’m suddenly in the middle of planning events, making posters and flyers on Canva, and doing my best to figure out what a Xylacopa is and who on earth a Megachile could be, all while moving out of my apartment into the SOU dorms in the middle of the most crazy time of my life. Through all that, I found that serving at PPRV became a stabilizing constant in my life; a part of my schedule that I could rely on. As the months went by, the people who make PPRV also became friends and co-workers who I could rely on to be the ray of sunshine in a very gloomy fall. Soon, I didn’t mind rushing from one event to another, from one lesson to the next. The work I was able to be a part of became less of a sprint, and more of a steady jog. With the support of the wonderful PPRV volunteers and community, I have had the chance to do so much, and for that I am incredibly grateful. With some of the Pollinteers - Christine Freidel, Kristina Lefever (my boss), Deb Vroman, Anne LaFrance, Sharon Bryson, Deanna Mulaskey, and Daniel Jokelson. One of the highlights of my service term here at PPRV has been building and then leading the Education Committee. Because I enjoy nicknames, we shortened it to “EdComm”, which I find much more enjoyable to say out loud. The people in this group (Sue, Sara, Hannah, and Pete) were chosen because of their experience in the confusing and scary world of education. Meeting with Sara Enriquez, Sue Fthenakis, and Hannah Borgerson in the PPRV office -- with an infamous cheese tray from The Oregon Cheese Cave! Pete Gonzalez on scopes at Bellview Elementary School with teacher Angelina Tejada Ingram, and me at second table All of them have been instrumental not only in the design of various lesson plans, but in their implementation as well. One of the highlights of working with the EdComm was the ambitious and multi-faceted project with Bellview Elementary School. The teachers there had invited us to get their kids engaged with pollinators, and after several delays and cancellations, we managed to put together a pollinator-themed extravaganza for the two 5th grade classes, that we would repeat twice in the day. We had one EdComm member wrangling kids on a tour of the native plants in the garden, another helping kids not break their microscopes while they looked at plant and bug parts, and yet another guiding kids through the seeding process of 5 different native plants. After 4 (maybe more?) hours of workshops, a cold April rain, bug legs, and presentations, the EdComm was left exhausted but invigorated. Talking bees and pollinators to a 5th grade class at Bellview A couple days later, we got a response from the teachers we worked with. They were thrilled with the work that the students had done, and were grateful for all the energy the EdComm members had put into making these kids into full-fledged pollinator advocates. The past 11 months have been filled with lessons and events at various schools and community venues that were only possible through the hard work of the Education Committee. Each member has contributed so much to PPRV's education program, and I have been honored to work with them. Something that serving at PPRV has taught me is that I am allowed to recognize and celebrate my own accomplishments, which is difficult for someone like me who has a whole bunch of trouble with self-positivity. Throughout this service term, I’ve been given the chance to express myself through classes, presentations, and even lesson plans. All of these, and everything I've worked on through PPRV, has a little bit of myself in it. Learning to take ownership of my accomplishments has been challenging for sure, but in doing so I’ve also become more comfortable with my own self expression. I’ve learned to be more confident in just about every element of my life. Having the space and freedom to express myself in an accepting community has been revolutionary for my sense of self and self-worth. So I wanted to thank PPRV, this community, and the friends I’ve made along the way for helping me grow into the person I am today, and for helping on the path towards becoming the educator I want to be. Me thinking big at the 2023 Earth Day celebration at Phoenix Industrial Studios Finally, I want to send out a huge shout-out of appreciation to the folks at United Communities | AmeriCorps for all of their support and guidance over these last 11 months, and to the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation for their awesome grant to PPRV to support me and the Pollinator Pals program!

By Erin Keller and Kristina Lefever, with assist from Dr. Miller On May 20, 2023, Dr. Jeffrey Miller visited Southern Oregon at the invitation of Pollinator Project Rogue Valley (PPRV) to speak about his ongoing project mapping butterflies in Oregon. After the presentation, Erin was fortunate to talk with him about three topics: the need for and benefits of mapping butterflies in Oregon, factors that impact butterfly populations, and two innovative ways that we all can be involved. Dr. Miller’s mapping project is an enormous undertaking that spans multiple decades, beginning with the efforts of John Hinchliff, who collected records of Oregon butterfly sightings and locations, dating back to the early 1900s. In 1994, after hearing Hinchliff present his data, Dr. Miller proposed digitizing the records. Hinchliff agreed, and turned over his 27,000 records, (of which, 17,000 were unique locations.) It would take Miller and a student, Dana Ross, FIVE YEARS to enter and proof the records, which included the butterfly species, its location, and host plant(s,) into an OSU database. Unbelievably, during a departmental transition, those data were later lost! Now retired, Miller is painstakingly re-creating the data, while adding more recent sightings, in order to create a series of maps for each butterfly species recorded in Oregon. Currently, he has records of 35,000 unique sighting locations. Oh my, what fascinating and important information these maps provide! As an ecologist, Dr. Miller looks at patterns of distribution. By mapping each species and subspecies, he can notice patterns of “clumping and voids” in the distribution for a given butterfly species, or for many butterfly species. Mapped sightings of two subspecies of the Golden Hairstreak butterfly (Habrodais grunus). Dorsal and ventral sides of H. grunus lorquini below. From there, he can consider questions, such as the following: what factors limit butterfly distribution, such as temperature, food source, and habitat fragmentation? How sensitive is the habitat distribution to loss by agriculture, housing development, clear-cutting, and invasive plants, such as blackberries? Are all butterfly species limited in range to the range of its host plant(s)? What happens to the butterfly population when the host plant’s range shrinks or disappears?? An important factor in considering butterfly habitat loss is that many butterfly species “specialize,” meaning they need a particular plant genus or species for their young (caterpillars) to feed on. Miller tells us that half of the 173 species of butterflies in Oregon specialize to only one genus of plant. The Oregon Swallowtail caterpillars take this further, and can only feed on one species of plant within the genus Artemisia. Of the remaining half who can feed on plants from more than one genus, most cannot range beyond one particular family of plants. Record of number of lepidoptera species found when "beating" a tree or shrub to make the insects drop on a cloth. This “host–to-caterpillar” relationship is due to the million-year evolutionary partnership of plants and lepidoptera. Plants have evolved to avoid being eaten. For instance, milkweed sap contains the chemical cardiac glycoside, which is toxic to most caterpillars (and other herbivores). The monarch has adapted to ingest this chemical, and then sequester it within its body, rather than digesting it. This makes it possible for the caterpillars to feed on the milkweed leaves, when other herbivores could not. Other caterpillars evolved to be able to eat other plants – some more specific than others. For instance, the great spangled fritillary caterpillar can eat only native violets! More monitoring is needed as climates and habitats change – keeping in mind that monitoring butterflies is far from an automated process, as it requires a (knowledgeable) human to be present for each sighting. This leads us to Dr. Miller’s first suggestion for how we can be involved: Adopt a site. What does this mean? Choose your favorite local outdoor location, and make it your “project location” for a season, or for multiple seasons. Monitor the butterflies at your special place, every two weeks from late April through July or early August. If you use iNaturalist, you can join the “Butterflies of Oregon's Project,” which is administrated by Neil Bjorklund, and your photos will be included in this impressive citizen science list. Per Bjorkland, “we just surpassed 23,000 butterfly sightings in Oregon!” (May, 2023) You can also follow Neil Bjorklund’s "butterfliesoforegon” site, which has only Bjorklund’s sightings. Make your monitoring project fun! And know that you are contributing to an important body of knowledge. A second suggestion will sound familiar, but Miller adds a fun twist. Create a wildlife food web in your yard or garden. Dr. Miller suggested three garden plants that are hosts to multiple butterfly species: lupine, violets, and buckwheat (especially sulphurflower buckwheat / Eriogonum umbellatum.) Per Miller, “lots of butterflies want the nectar, lots of caterpillars want the leaves, and birds want the caterpillars. Then, sit back and watch the wildlife!” He adds – the more you can plant, the better. A 20’ X 20’ plot would be small. However, if you can only plant one plant, then plant one plant. It all helps. And I’ll add – ask your neighbor to plant one plant! It was a true pleasure to speak with Dr. Miller, and a challenge to limit this post to the content above, as he provided so much information. If you have an opportunity to hear him speak, we urge you to accept. Learn more from Dr. Miller’s publication, “Butterflies and Moths of the Pacific Northwest Forests and Woodlands; Rare, Endangered and Management Sensitive Species” (2007.) Oh, and don’t forget to plant that one (native) plant to feed the caterpillars. Dr. Miller has put-together an awesome list of resources here for butterflies and moths in the Pacific Northwest. And please visit the Resources on our website to find other resources about pollinators, plants, and gardens. About Jeffrey: After a couple of years of indecision while attending three Universities and taking classes to satisfy requirements for five different majors (in sequence!), Jeffrey found his niche in Entomology at UC Davis with a BS degree in 1973. After receiving his PhD in 1977, he was offered a Post-Doctoral position. Planning to stay at Davis as an Instructor, his first term was cut short by an appointment to Assistant Professor at OSU in 1979. Retiring 36 years later, in 2015, Jeffrey realizes that his primary charge throughout has been caterpillars. Jeffrey has authored a number of important reference books and an amazing article about insects in Oregon Flora, vol. 2 (not available in the online version).

by Kristina Lefever at the request of the Medford Garden Club Scenic vistas of orchards, farms, ranches, beautiful mountains and valleys full of wildflowers ..... we must be in Southern Oregon! Although, if you have lived here for more than a few years, you have seen the changes - open land giving way to places for human habitation, new businesses, city infrastructure, and more. This article is to offer a reason, and a way, and yes, a hope, that we as humans can help offset these changes for the long-term sustainability of this beautiful place where we live. My premise is that gardens, specifically pollinator gardens, are even more important now, because they provide not only a much needed respite for the remaining populations of pollinator species, but also a place for them to live, survive, and thrive in an ever shrinking larger landscape. It is becoming more and more apparent that gardens can no longer serve only the interest of “us” - in fact, we must think about how our outdoor spaces can serve other creatures who live here, too, before it's too late. And not just too late for the bees and the butterflies and the birds who depend on these plants, especially the plants that are native to this place, but "too late" for us, too. Because, without these tiny, almost invisible creatures, our world will become bereft of not only the beauty that we see around us in the landscapes of southern Oregon, but our food crops will suffer as well. Consider the madrone and the cherry tree, the manzanita and the tomato, the yarrow and the carrot, the honeysuckle and the squash - all of these flowers must be pollinated in order to set seed and reproduce. (Photo of Tarweed in seed and flower) In fact, 85% percent of all flowering plants, including trees and other native plants, depend on bees, flies, wasps, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds to be their partner in reproduction. Especially those hard-working bees, who help provide us with one out of every three bites of food. Aah, honey bees, you think! Yes, brought over in the 1600's by the European settlers, honey bees, although not native to this country, are now part of our landscape and beloved for the honey they make. Honey bees are efficient pollen collectors – they can make honey to keep their large hive alive all year long. They are also easily ‘managed’, and so can be carried to various locations. Did you know that there are almost 700 species of bees in Oregon alone? In fact, many native bee species are better pollinators than the ubiquitous honey bee - they do collect pollen, but not as much, and for a shorter time and for a much few number of offspring, and most species fly as adults only at certain times of the year (mason bees in the spring, leaf cutters and long horn bees in the late summer, etc). Because of the way they collect pollen, native bees tend to be 'messy', leaving behind lots of pollen as they visit the various flowers of both native plants and food crops. It takes about 250 mason bees to pollinate the same amount of fruit trees as 20,000 honey bees. On the other hand, a mason bee might lay 30 eggs in her 6-week lifetime, but a honey bee can lay 20,000 eggs in a day. But it's not just about pretty flowers in our gardens - there is more to a successful pollinator garden than meets the eye, because there are more than bees to consider. The 'flying flowers' (butterflies) eat twice - in both the caterpillar stage (yes, we want them to eat our plants!) and in the adult stage sipping nectar. The more native trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and grasses we have in our landscape, the more caterpillars, and thus butterflies and moths we will see - although it may take years for them to return. (Photo of mason bee by Kyle Poling) Consider that moth and butterfly caterpillars are THE food source for baby birds. Did you know that it takes about 6,000 caterpillars to raise one clutch of chickadees? Consider that the pollinators and plants of every ecoregion began evolving together over 170 million years ago, with the emergence of the first species of flowering plants. With over 3,600 species of native plants, Oregon has a huge diversity of native pollinators. And many are native to southern Oregon! (Photo of just a few of the almost 50 American Lady butterflies we raised in our nursery on native Pearly Everlasting this past summer - see our blog about that wonderful adventure!) I'll leave you with a recommendation to read one of my favorite books – perhaps the reason I am writing this article. Because when I learned, from Dr. Doug Tallamy, that a beautiful gingko tree in this country, not its native China, will support 1 species, but an oak, native to this land, supports over 500 species, I knew things had to change. Pick up a copy of Bringing Nature Home, or any of Dr. Tallamy's books to learn more. Join me in this fascinating journey of discovery, applicable to right where we live. There are many resources to learn more about why and how to grow a native pollinator garden, or at the least, to add natives to your garden, and help serve our native pollinators and the ecosystems that they support. "In the past, we've asked one thing of our gardens: that they be pretty. Now they have to support food webs, sequester carbon, feed pollinators, and manage water. We have to find ways for Nature to thrive in human dominated landscapes." ~Doug Tallamy Resources Pollinator Project Rogue Valley https://www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/protect-pollinators Native Plant Society Oregon: https://www.npsoregon.org Klamath Siskiyou Native Seeds: https://klamathsiskiyouseeds.com The Understory Initiative: https://understoryinitiative.com Jackson County Master Gardeners at OSU Extension: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg Plant Oregon: https://www.plantoregon.com/ Visit local native plant gardens: - Britt Woodlands, Jacksonville (jvwoodlands.org) - Pollinator Project Rogue Valley’s demonstration garden, 312 N. Main St., Phoenix - Jackson County Master Gardeners, OSU Extension, 569 Hanley Rd, Central Point - North Mountain Park Nature Center, 620 N. Mountain Avenue, Ashland Kristina Lefever is a native pollinator and plant advocate, and Chief Volunteer (and president) of Pollinator Project Rogue Valley. Reach her at pollinatorprojectroguevalley@gmail.com. Photos by Kristina unless noted.

By Erin Keller There was a full house at the Talent Library on Sunday, March 5,2023, as natural history photographer David Lee Myers shared his knowledge, experience, and photographs with over 60 participants. This presentation was co-sponsored by the Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. David Lee Myers treated participants to many of his beautiful photographs. He used them to illustrate butterflies in several stages of the life cycle, right here in our local neighborhoods and wildlands. David’s photographs portrayed butterflies laying eggs (ovipositing), as caterpillars in five different stages (instars), emerging from the chrysalis (eclosing), and as the breathtaking adults we all love to see. Additionally, David helped us to better understand the link between local butterflies and specific native plants, partly by illustrating 55-60 adult butterflies in their natural habitats. A central idea to the presentation is that butterflies need “baby food,” as well as adult food. Baby butterflies (caterpillars) eat leaves and flowers, while adult butterflies sip nectar. Butterflies and native plants have co-evolved over millions of years, such that the plants native to that place are the only foods that caterpillars can eat. In some cases, butterflies identify plants by the chemicals they emit. Without those co-evolved signals from the correct native plants, some butterflies would not find a suitable place to lay their eggs. A few champions. David shared that narrow-leaf milkweed, rubber rabbitbrush and wild buckwheat are particularly critical to multiple species of butterflies. Thankfully, narrow-leaf milkweed grows well in neighborhood gardens, and provides both baby food for the monarchs (only) and nectar for adults of many species, as well as other pollinators. Of note, rabbitbrush and wild buckwheat need to be grown more in valley gardens! Moments of awe. When asked what participants were most surprised to learn, the idea that butterflies need baby food for the caterpillar stages, was a surprise to many of us! Additionally, participants learned that there are about 175 species of butterflies documented in Oregon, and 120 – 125 documented in Jackson County! This area is important for butterflies! What is needed. Additional butterfly counts and documentation are needed in Jackson County. Additionally, further observation and documentation of which plants can support which butterflies. And of course, more native plants in gardens and landscapes. Each attendee received a copy of David's booklet, Finding, Observing and Identifying Butterflies. Take-aways. Yes, we all can help! Per David, “Each of us can: observe and report, plant [pollinator] gardens and landscaping, advocate in neighborhoods, HOAs, agencies. Support organizations working on such goals. Collaborate: help PPRV build information and presentations.” Learning directly from David was a big part of what made this presentation memorable. In addition to David’s knowledge and artistry, his deep appreciation for butterflies was evident with each photograph he shared, each description he provided, and each experience he retold. All who were present were inspired and reminded that we are part of the natural world, too. To quote his website, “To share committing to it and caring for it.” See David’s website at: https://www.davidleemyersphoto.com Additionally, check out his book, Wings in the Light: Wild Butterflies in North America (2019) Yale University Press. Available on his website, and at local bookstores. Stay tuned for additional PPRV educational opportunities. Next up is Food Plants for Butterflies, Part 2 with Suzie Savoy, Klamath Siskiyou Native Seeds, at the Talent Community Center, on April 16, 1:00 - 3:00. More opportunities at our website and on Facebook. https://www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/habitat-academy https://www.facebook.com/PollinatorProject posted March 19, 2023