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Creating Pollinator Gardens – the Role of Plant Choice and Design with Dr. Harland Patch
April 18 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Creating Pollinator Gardens – the Role of Plant Choice and Design with Harland Patch
April 18, 2024
Live and on Zoom
Elmwood Community Center
1106 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford, CT
Free for members; non-members register here.
Zoom links are automatically sent to members the Sunday before and the day of the presentation.
Ecological approaches to garden design and management are hallmarks of 21st century gardening. Until recently most approaches have been adapted for aesthetic reasons or for the ill-defined goal of supporting biodiversity. Much of the interest in ecological gardens comes from concerns about declining biodiversity and degradation of natural spaces. But the processes underlying ecological declines remain poorly understood by gardeners and designers therefore limiting the ability to create a truly sustainable garden aesthetic. Recent advances in pollination science from the landscape level to genetics can greatly inform the creation and management of ecological gardens.
Dr. Harland Patch focuses his research on many aspects of pollinator biology from genes to landscapes. His current research on understanding the biological mechanisms associated with bee nutrition and how nutrition, in turn, affects bee health. Dr. Patch is working with collaborators to understand the underlying factors that contribute to pollinator host plant choice, including the role of annual and perennial cultivars to support pollinator populations. This includes developing an easy-to-use digital tool to determine which cultivars support pollinators. He is scientific advisor and Director of Pollinator Programming at Penn State’s Bird and Pollinator Garden, a recently built 4-acre garden based on scientific research. He is also involved in ongoing projects to determine the causes of pollinator declines in the US and in Africa. Dr. Patch has taught Molecular Ecology, Pollination Biology and an undergraduate course on honey bees, among other classes.
Free for members; $10 suggested non-member donation. After the event, you’ll receive a recorded copy of the talk.
