Pollinator Protection and Outreach Strategies: Multiple Methods that Make a Difference

Linn County Conservation – 1,000 Acre Initiative   Linn County Iowa is well on their way to conserve 1,000 acres for pollinators.  Their initiative uniquely combines public/private partnerships that will form a strong model for other Iowa communities to use as a resource and template to promote the rapid changes to our environment critical to the future of both pollinators and people

Patricia has been working with the City of Toronto for 32 years. For 13 years, she worked as the Foreperson at Riverdale Farm which involved overseeing the farm operations, and educational programs. She worked as a full-time gardener briefly before landing in her current role, running educational outreach programs, the City of Toronto garden contest, providing support to local community greening efforts in our parks and ravines.  She is the divisional rep for the West Nile Virus Committee, and is the city-wide inspector for naturalized gardens.   

Patricia was the co-lead on the "Pollinator Protection Strategy" for the City of Toronto. Patricia has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph, specialized in Wildlife Biology, with a minor in Zoology. She has 3 children, 28, 26 and 21 and in her spare time, enjoys coaching, training and competing in Ironman triathlons, across North America.

Brett Johnson is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University, and an MS from Texas Tech University.  After spending almost 12 years with Texas Parks and Wildlife as an Urban Wildlife Biologist, he started with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department as the Sr. Environmental Coordinator/Urban Biologist.  In this capacity he oversees the natural resource management issues and raise the environmental profile of the department.  This includes feral hog trapping operations, prairie management, pollinator conservation, biological surveys, and outdoor/nature based outreach efforts.

Doug Wolter is the Horticulture Supervisor at St. Louis County Parks & Recreation. Doug has been with the county for nearly 40 years.  During his time with Parks, Doug has initiated several efforts to protect pollinators and created a network made up local garden centers and businesses all working together to inform the public. Doug also founded the Children’s Garden Club program that has now entered its 20^th year. It is a monthly program to introduce children to gardening. Doug is passionate about educating people about the benefits and importance of gardening.