Registration is now open for the inaugural Quad Cities Pollinator Conference, June 10-11, 2015 at Jumer's Casino and Hotel in Rock Island, IL. This two-day event features a keynote dinner by John Phipps, commentator for U.S. Farm Report, titled, "Shades of Grey: Communicating Science to an Anxious Public." With insights from his farm to the TV studio, Phipps will share experiences and working rules for explaining probabilistic technical information to audiences craving black and white answers.
Throughout the two days, participants will also attend a variety of educational sessions from experts, such as May Berenbaum, Ph.D, Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, on: plant-pollinator relationships, pollinator decline, designing pollinator support plantings, conservation measures, pollinator-friendly landscapes in agricultural and urban settings, and more. In addition, individuals can attend an optional off-site workshop and tours.
This conference is geared toward: the agricultural community; municipal, state and federal government employees; landowners; homeowners; beekeepers; and educators. The conference will provide a platform for knowledge-sharing, open dialogue, networking, and pollinator-related goods and services.
Pollinators are a critical natural resource in agriculture and healthy ecosystems, but there has been a significant pollinator decline over the past few decades. Of the 100 crops that make up 90% of the global food supply, 71 are dependent on bees. Although our main cash crops are self-pollinating, insects do pollinate both plants and may be more important than historically thought. Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in value to agricultural crops each year in the United States.
Pre-registration for the event is required. Exhibitor space & sponsorships are available. For registration and information, visit www.qcpollinatorconference.org or call Nahant Marsh at (563) 323-5196.
The conference is sponsored by: Nahant Marsh; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Soil & Water Conservation Districts of Rock Island, Scott and Henry counties; Rock Island County Farm Bureau, Scott County Farm Bureau, The Singh Family Charitable Giving Fund, Wallace's Garden Center, Waste Commission of Scott County and Radish magazine.
###
