Writer
Linda Geist-
Image
MU Extension offers a five-week Master Pollinator Steward program that begins May 5. The program teaches ways to promote pollinators to improve the environment and food supply. Photo by Tamra Reall.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A Master Pollinator Steward program offered by University of Missouri Extension begins soon.
The five-week program focuses on ways to protect and support pollinators, which are declining significantly due to a loss of feeding and nesting habitats, says MU Extension field specialist in horticulture Tamra Reall.
Pollinators – including bees, butterflies and other insects, as well as bats and birds – play a vital role in fruit and vegetable production by transferring pollen among flowers, enabling plants to produce fruits and seeds. They also contribute to healthy ecosystems that stabilize soils, support wildlife and improve air quality, says Reall.
To create the program, MU Extension coordinated with beekeepers, MU Extension Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists in addition to partner groups such as the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Reall says the statewide presentations will be virtual and supplemented by local, in-person field sessions and tours. MU Extension specialists will be on hand at virtual sessions to provide materials and answer questions.
The first session is 9:30 a.m. to noon Monday, May 5, via Zoom, and the program runs through June 16. Sessions will be recorded, and a link will be provided to registered students for later viewing.
The course qualifies as advanced training for Extension Master Gardeners and Missouri Master Naturalists. It has been certified for the following learning objectives in the Great Plains Master Beekeeping program: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.10, 1.11, 3.6 and 3.14.
The program will be available at seven locations across Missouri: northwestern Missouri and Jackson, Adair, Boone, Cole, Henry and St. Louis counties. If you are outside these areas, you are welcome to join the Kansas City section.
Program presenters include Tamra Reall, Emily Althoff, Travis Harper, Dan Getman, Kelly McGowan, Robert Pierce, Tim Reinbott, Terryl Woods and Patrick Byers.
Presentation schedule: May 5, insects; May 12, plant-pollinator interactions; May 19, native bees and other pollinators; June 2, honeybees; June 9, pollinators in nature and agriculture (Part 1); June 16, pollinators in nature and agriculture (Part 2).
Register for the course. For more information, contact Reall or watch a short video on the program.
