Living Web Farms of Mills River to host roundtable on pollinator protection, June 13

Eight local pollinator, conservation and food experts comprise the panel that will be featured at a forthcoming event hosted by Living Webs Farms of Mills River. The roundtable takes place at their educational farm at 176 Kimzey Road on Saturday, June 13, from 1:30 p.m. until 7 p.m., and discussions will “examine the challenges and losses that honey bees, native bees and all pollinators are currently experiencing.”

To register as an audience member, click here. $15 suggested donation.

Alternatively, interested individuals can subscribe to Living Web’s Youtube channel for a webinar version of the event.

Here is the full release from Living Web Farms:

The loss of honeybees, butterflies, and other pollinators has been headline news for several years, but have we really addressed the issues, or seen all the problems at hand? The causes of massive threats to pollinators are complex, and mysterious to even seasoned scientists. Even the beekeeping community disagrees on the next best steps for pollinator protection. On June 13th at 1:30pm EST, Living Web Farms will host a roundtable of diverse voices in the local community, to examine the challenges and losses that honey bees, native bees and all pollinators are currently experiencing.

Asheville, NC—It’s no secret that honeybees, butterflies, and native pollinator populations are failing. Keepers of honeybees nationwide reported more than 40% loss of hives in 2014, and bumble bee and monarch populations have declined even more steeply. The Obama Administration recently released a federal plan to address pollinator decline, and with National Pollinator week rapidly approaching, event calendars and news headlines are abuzz with classes, seminars, and action items for saving the bees. Attempts to raise awareness about protection and creation of pollinator habitat, the role of harmful pesticides, and other key issues have our marching orders laid out in vague terms, but as activists dig deeper, the options are not so straightforward. To explore the complexities, Living Web Farms will host a roundtable discussion of diverse voices on June 13th, entitled: Keepers of the Bees.

“People have been hearing about pollinators in crisis for some years now, but still have no real understanding of what’s wrong, or what they can do,” said Diane Almond, a respected beekeeper and educator in Western NC, who will facilitate the roundtable at Living Web Farms on June 13th. “There are so many complexities, opportunities, and challenges involved that we need to come together, invite civil discourse and listening, even in disagreement, to get at the bigger, more useful picture.” The complexities Almond mentions are myriad, including (but not limited to) what-is and what-is-not acceptable pollinator habitat, whether honeybees are out-competing native pollinators, and whether conservationists and commercial farmers have the same goals, or opposing ones.

For example, yellow star thistle is a main honey source in Michigan, but is also a habitat-destroying invasive plant, resulting in an awkward tension between conservationists and beekeepers. And in a recent, impactful statement, widely respected beekeeper Mark Winston, Simon Frasier University, Vancouver B.C. (who visits Asheville June 16 and 17 to headline Pollinator Week), noted the dependency of commercial beekeepers on chemical pesticides to keep hives afloat, all while pollinator awareness campaigns identify chemical toxicity as one of the most debilitating factors in the health of pollinator populations. He writes, “We beekeepers ourselves have stepped onto the same chemical treadmill, losing credibility and the high ground in campaigns to reduce pesticide use and implement stronger regulations,” leading to his eventual assertion that “beekeeping itself has to change.”

In an effort to bring these and other, more intricate questions to the forefront at the June 13th roundtable, a group of farmers, beekeepers, and ecology-conscious citizens have been working to populate the panel for several months. The event, which will be open to a live listening audience, as well as broadcast via webinar to Living Web Farms’ impressive international online community, will feature up to eight regionally respected pollinator, conservation, and food experts. “We’ll seek to respectfully present opposing views on best action, sort existing information, and vet it, so that people can come to understand that we are ALL keepers of pollinators,” Almond added.

Panelists include Almond, Nancy Adamson of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Phyllis Styles of Bee City USA, Andrew Goodheart Brown, permaculture consultant, an urban orchardist, Sarah Eshan, of Wild Mountain Bee Supply, and Patryk Battle and Michelle Carter, both of Living Web Farms. Additional panelists may also be announced.

“The June roundtable will bring about many, nuanced land and habitat management questions,” said Meredith Leigh, Living Web Farms’ Education and Outreach Coordinator, and added, “I think both participants in the roundtable, and listeners far and wide will find this a very different kind of pollinator event.”

To register for a seat in the live audience, do so by donation at http://www.livingwebfarms.org/roundtable-keeper-of-the-bees/4587261116

To attend the virtual webinar, do so by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

About Living Web Farms:
Living Web Farms is an education and research organic farm located in Mills River, NC. With over 35 acres, four greenhouses, alternative energy innovation, pastured livestock, forest crops, and diverse vegetable production, Living Web is the leading demonstration site for effective organic farming in western NC. Living Web conducts year-round education in farming, homesteading, cooking, and sustainable living. All education conducted at the farm is archived online in a free video library, and all food produced at the farm is donated to charity, via seven North Carolina food banks. For more information, visit www.LivingWebFarms.org.