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Summer Festival ’23 Registration is Open

Register for Morning Session HERE

 

2023 NE Ohio Pollinator Summer Festival

DATE: Saturday, June 10th, 2023    TIME: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

LOCATION: Gateway Elementary School Auditorium & Outdoor Learning Center, 229 Gateway Avenue, Conneaut, Ohio 44030

 

The 2023 Northeast Ohio Pollinator Summer Festival will be another day of pollinator education and celebration in beautiful Conneaut, Ohio.

Please join us at the Gateway Elementary School Gymnasium and Outdoor Learning Center on June 10th starting at 8 AM for these great speakers:

  • Lara Roketenetz, Ph.D.  – “Backyard Gardening for Pollinators”

Lara is the Field Station Director at Martin Center for Field Studies and Environmental Education for the University of Akron

  • Jim McCormac—”Mysterious Moths—Growing the Darker Side of Butterflies”

Prolific writer, speaker and photographer, Jim worked for Ohio Dept of Natural Resources for 31 years in the field as a botanist and wildlife diversity project specialist. This talk is on his latest book.

 

Event’s Schedule

Morning Session ($15 Admission)

8:00-8:30 – Registration and Check-In  ($15 Admission if attending morning presentations.)

8:30-10:00 – Lara Roketenetz, Ph.D.  – “Backyard Gardening for Pollinators”

10-10:30 – Break

10:30-12:00 – Jim McCormac—”Mysterious Moths—Growing the Darker Side of Butterflies”

Afternoon Session (Free to attend)

12:00 to 4:00 – Celebration of pollinators at the Outdoor Learning Center

  • Native Plant Vendors – Over 10 of Ohio’s best nurseries will be selling quality trees, shrubs, and perennials
  • Nature Organizations and Exhibitors promoting their organizations
  • Guided Tours of the award-winning Outdoor Learning Center Butterfly & Pollinator Garden
  • Guided Hikes led by the area’s finest naturalists
  • Kids Activities led by local non-profit service groups
  • Ashtabula County Soil & Water
  • Musical Groups
  • Food Trucks will be available for lunch

2023 Northeast Ohio Pollinators Society – Winter Series

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The award-winning Northeast Ohio Pollinator Symposium will be holding its fourth annual webinar series.  Check out the schedule for this years webinar below!

January 11 – 7 PM

“Homegrown Conservation: Stewarding Our Landscapes for Pollinators and Other Wildlife” – presented by Danae Wolfe

Climate change and biodiversity loss are creating existential threats to people and nature. But we can help. Join conservation educator Danae Wolfe to discover small steps we can all take in our own backyards and communities to steward our landscapes for nature and wildlife.

Danae Wolfe is a writer, photographer, and educator focused on promoting appreciation and stewardship of backyard bugs and nature. Through her website, social media, children’s books, public speaking, and column in The American Gardener magazine, she has reached global audiences with science-based education about the importance of gardening for wildlife.

 

January 25 – 7 PM
“What’s in Your Garden Today? Discovering the Insect Life in Your Garden” – presented by Ann Cicarella

In 2015, I began transitioning my gardens to include more native plants and was astounded at the diversity of insect life that began to appear. The results of embracing a new gardening paradigm were curious, enchanting, and beautiful. And so began my endeavor to photograph, document and research all the species of wildlife I discovered in the gardens. An infinite number of life cycles take place season after season. It’s a cadence of life that drives the rhythm of the seasons.

Ann Cicarella has been designing landscapes for thirty years, in the Cleveland area, but was thrilled to design gardens at an eco-boutique resort in Caldera, Panama, as well as residential gardens in Fairfax, VA and Sea Island, GA. In 2005, Ann Cicarella Landscape Design LLC was awarded a Gold Medal by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers for a project she designed and managed in the category of $150,000 and above.

Ann received her Certificate in Landscape Horticulture from Cleveland State University and continued to absorb landscape design ideas and principles by visiting fantastic gardens in the US, Italy, France, England, Germany, and the Netherlands.

She has been featured in numerous magazines throughout her career and was most recently on the cover of the 2015 April Ohio Magazine and the 2016 May cover of Country Gardens.

In 2015, Ann founded the Cleveland Pollinator and Native Plant Symposium to bring in national and regional speakers to educate and inspire ways in which we can design, build, and maintain biodiverse landscapes and habitats for pollinators and wildlife. www.clevelandpollinatorsymposium.org

Ann has designed a pollinator and vegetable garden for her four grandchildren so they can experience firsthand the wonder of the rich insect life and beauty you find in gardens. Ann hand raises monarch butterflies and is a beekeeper with ten hives in her garden. She also maintains the beehive at the Cleveland Botanical Garden and conducts educational programs. Ann is Ohio Certified Pollinator Specialist and an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist.  If you see her talking to her bees, butterflies, and plants, she is just having a staff meeting

 

February 8 – 7 PM

“Home-grown Restoration: Creating Pollinator Plots, Fields, and Strips on Private Land” – presented by Abby-Gayle Prieur

When landowners move from pollinator gardening to what might be called “habitat restoration,” new challenges related to establishment and maintenance of pollinator habitat arise. Hand tools, elbow grease, potted wildflowers, and gardening budgets may no longer be practical for converting plots of land to high-quality habitat.

Abby will review common strategies for establishing pollinator habitat on project areas that are too big to prepare and tend by hand. She will also offer tips for keeping habitat in tip-top shape after it is established. Lastly, she will review federal programs that can be utilized to help fund home-grown habitat restoration projects.

Abby Prieur is a Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist serving eastern Ohio. She collaborates closely with landowners who wish to improve their land for wildlife. Her specialty is providing guidance on restoring habitat that supports pollinating insects.

Abby is a graduate of the University of Georgia (BS) and Purdue University (MS,) where she studied wildlife management and science. She has a special interest in conservation projects that benefit wildlife and people.

 

February 22 – 7 PM

“Gardening Across the Lifespan” – presented by Laura Akgerman

Gardening across the lifespan is an educational workshop from Ohio AgrAbility, which includes information on good body mechanics, ergonomic garden tools, safe lifting, sun safety, Universal Design and ideas for adapting your current work habits, tools and structures so you can continue gardening productively and safely as your abilities change.

Laura Akgerman is the Disability Services Coordinator for Ohio AgrAbility & Ohio State University Extension. She is a two-time Ohio State University Alum, with degrees in English and Rehabilitation Services. She presents workshops on Gardening with Arthritis, Farming with a disability, AgriTourism, and other disability related issues for Ohio AgrAbility and OSU Extension. She grew up outside Sunbury Ohio, was active in 4-H in Delaware county, and was very proud of her Dad and brother who ran Cherryhill Aquatics, the family waterlily nursery, from 1986 to 2012.

 

March 8 – 7 PM

“Ecology of Wild Edibles” – presented by John Wright, Jr

In this class we will discuss the role that native wild foods have in supporting pollinators as well as other local fauna. We’ll discuss the human role in this ecology and how we can increase our food stocks and nutrition while providing food and habitat for many other organisms in our local ecosystem.

John Wright, Jr is a self-taught permaculture expert. He is an excellent teacher and workshop leader for all ages. He also provides private consultations to land owners interested in transforming their property into a permaculture paradise. John was formally trained as a horticulturist at the Ohio State University. He has worked with community gardens and faith-based institutions. He knows from experience how to grow food in anything: tiny inner-city plot, a windowsill, hidden public spaces, on acres and acres of rural land, etc. He is a master seed saver, plant-identifier, creative-thinker, and dreamer. He was born and raised in Jefferson, OH.

 

Watch recordings from previous years by exploring tabs on the left side of the site!

Welcome to The Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society Website

The Northeast Ohio Pollinator Society  is a 501c3, comprised of  members of The Ashtabula County Master Gardeners, The Ashtabula County Beekeepers Association, The Ashtabula County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Live events are offered on a regular basis, and this website will provide updates on future live or in-person events. So check here for regular updates!

Below are recordings from our 2020, 2021, and 2022 winter series. You can access those by using the links below, or clicking the tabs on the left side of the screen!

2022 Northeast Ohio Pollinator Symposium – Winter Series

2021 Northeast Ohio Pollinator Symposium – Winter Series

2020 Northeast Ohio Pollinator Symposium

Make sure to look at the great links to resources under each video and at the bottom of each page!