Thursday Night Nature: The Native Bees of Pennsylvania with Ryan Drake (July 27, 2023)

Pennsylvania hosts a great diversity of native bee species, many of which are in decline. Thankfully, there are many ways to support these important insects. Ryan Drake will discuss pollination ecology, field ID and training on photography-based citizen science so that you can contribute data on our native bees. This course will be a precursor to In The Field: Exploring PA Native Bees with Ryan Drake on Saturday, July 29 2:30 pm to 4 pm, where we will take a walk through the meadows at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve to put our ID skills and citizen science to practice.

Ryan Drake is the McCaulsand natural areas manager at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, where he works with a team to manage 110 acres from naturalistic gardens to site reclamation. He is originally from the Midwest and has worked in public horticulture in both Wisconsin and Iowa. Having previously served on the Iowa Pollinator Working Group, his primary foci are ecological horticulture, land management, land use planning and native pollinator conservation. Drake received his BS in community and environmental sociology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he began his career in public horticulture.

Program Fee: $15 (Members, enter your code at checkout to receive your 20% discount.)

All lectures will be held virtually using Zoom. They will be recorded and shared with everyone who registers for a short time.

PHOTO CREDIT: RYAN DRAKE