Hopkinton Garden Club presents Special Double Session:
Waging battle against Knotweed (and other invasives) in Hopkinton
And
A citizen scientist’s guide to native pollination system conservation
(and why it matters)
Hopkinton Garden Club’s Speaker Series Presents a special double session, 7:00-7:30 PM “Waging battle against Knotweed (and other invasives) in Hopkinton” with Ed Harrow and 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM “A citizen scientist’s guide to native pollination system conservation (and why it matters) with Robert Gegear, PhD on Tuesday, February 21, beginning at 7:00 p.m. only via *Zoom, free and open to the public.
PART I (7:00-7:30 PM) Waging battle against Knotweed (and other invasives) in Hopkinton with Ed Harrow
“Someone I know once made the statement that ‘there is no more a true believer than a convert.’ For me, that happened when I walked through the meadow of the Whitehall Conservation Area. It was very nearly impenetrable for bittersweet vines. Now, in too many places, right here in Hopkinton, I see bittersweet, Japanese knotweed, barberry, glossy buckthorn, multiflora rose, and others,” notes Ed Harrow. Learn how to recognize these invasives and hear about efforts to reduce/eliminate them.
Ed Harrow, a “techie by nature,” grew up in a family that valued nature, woods, trees, etc. That background, and a little free time, lead him to be a long-time member of the Hopkinton Conservation Commission and Chair of the Hopkinton Open Space Preservation Commission. Previously, his knowledge of bittersweet was limited to his parents arguing about the bittersweet growing up the side of the barn. His father cut it down at first opportunity, but only because he was afraid it would tear the barn down.
PART II (7:30-8:30 PM) A citizen scientist’s guide to native pollination system conservation (and why it matters) with Robert Gegear, PhD
Over the past two decades, human activity has significantly degraded the integrity of plant-pollinator or ‘pollination’ systems across New England, with many of our historically abundant native flowing plant and pollinator species now locally extinct and others soon to follow if do not take immediate conservation action. The loss of species from plant-pollinator systems poses a significant threat to natural ecosystem function and service due to the fundamental role that ‘pollination products’ play in supporting wildlife diversity across trophic levels. Yet, the factors driving pollination system degradation remain unclear, impeding the development of effective conservation strategies. In this talk, I will discuss how ecological data collected through my Beecology Citizen Science Project is being used to gain insight into the causes of species loss from long-tongued bee and butterfly pollination systems native to New England. I will also highlight the ‘eco-technology’ that has been developed to aid Beecologists in the collection of species interaction data, including the launch of a new version of the webapp with automated butterfly and plant ID functions powered by iNaturalist in Spring 2022. My talk will conclude with an overview of how citizen scientists have been using Beecology data to significantly advance biodiversity restoration efforts in Massachusetts over the past 3 years.
Robert J. Gegear, PhD. is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Umass Dartmouth. His research focuses on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of plant pollinator systems, with particular emphasis on the role of pollinator sensory and cognitive systems in system diversification. He conducts highly integrative field, laboratory and theoretical studies on plant-pollinator systems using approaches and methodologies from a wide range of disciplines, including animal behavior, human psychology, molecular biology, community ecology, and computational biology. To advance his research and generate public outreach opportunities, he developed the Beecology Citizen Science Project, which aims to crowdsource the collection and dissemination of data on plant-pollinator interactions to accelerate the protection and restoration of habitat supporting species at risk of local extinction. His research is published in Nature, Science, Conservation Biology, Scientific Reports, and Proceedings B, among others.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Hopkinton Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
*Zoom attendance is open to the public. Non-members who wish to attend, please respond to register@hopkintongardenclub.org and state your interest in attending our February 21online event. Instructions will be provided in a reply email.
Our Speaker Series includes two more evening learning opportunities, please hold these dates:
3/21/23 – Your beautiful earth-friendly, sustainable garden with Rebecca Warner
4/18/23 – Avian ecology with Frederick (Erik) C. Sechler, Jr.
Hopkinton Garden Club, an affiliate of The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, strives to promote and teach gardening, horticulture, and floral design; to develop and encourage community spirit through town beautification; and to assist, promote, and contribute to town conservation efforts. Visit us at www.hopkintongardenclub.org; follow Hopkinton Garden Club on Facebook and hopkintongardenclub on Instagram. New members are welcome to join at any time during the club year. Come learn with us!