Boosting Biodiversity with Insect-Friendly Gardens

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Insects are essential to life on Earth, but insect populations are in trouble. However, there is hope in our own yards. There are many things you can do to make a real difference in improving insect biodiversity right where you live. Our gardens can host an astonishing variety of insect life—if we provide the habitat, we can make a real difference.

Five years ago, Amy Campion began making over her Portland garden to better serve the insects sharing her space. She was amazed by the creatures that soon showed up. She saw leafcutter bees harvesting petals to make nurseries, grass-carrying wasps building their distinctive nests, newly minted dragonflies taking their first flights. In all, she’s seen more than 400 insect species in her little 7,000 sq ft plot.

In this talk, you’ll learn 8 things you can do to create more insect-friendly habitat in your own garden, and you’ll meet some of the fascinating creatures that show up when you welcome them in. You’ll learn:

• to appreciate aphids
• to prioritize pollen over nectar
• why you should feed caterpillars and with what
• who’s living in your perennial stems
• how to attract more “tickle bees” to your landscape, and
• how to control mosquitoes in your pond (without fish!)

Amy Campion grew up in Minnesota, but she became a gardener in the Cincinnati area, where she worked at a wholesale nursery for 16 years. In 2013, she moved to Portland, Oregon, and in 2017, Amy co-authored Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner’s Guide with Paul Bonine.
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COST:
$15.00 DISCOUNT (senior, student, it's your birthday, just can't afford the GA price right now)
$25.00 GENERAL ADMISSION
$35.00 VIP Premium seating (front center rows)
$45.00 SUPPORTER: Premium seating, pint glass (beer not included), and good feelings for supporting the program

TICKETS: Get tickets!

WHERE ARE MY PEEPS?
This is an unhosted meetup event, but we have a Meetup sign if anyone wants to volunteer to mark a row or two!

IN-PERSON ONLY
We are no longer able to offer a live stream option for our live events. A recording may be available after the event on our Patreon (or sometimes also our YouTube channel) at the speaker's discretion.

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