Salem City Club, a biweekly gathering of more than 100 members will meet Oct. 11 at the Willamette Heritage Center to learn about the health of bees in Oregon and what is being done to protect them.
The state’s initiative, called the Oregon Bee Project, is led by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Department of Forestry, and the Oregon State University Extension. It also involves several regional and municipal agencies and a dedicated group of hundreds of volunteers and land managers.
A year after its inception, the Oregon Bee Project released a strategic plan for keeping Oregon’s bees healthy. The plan targets and describes activities to protect bees from pesticide exposure, increase their habitat, reduce impacts of diseases and pests, and expand the general understanding of bees in Oregon.
Andony Melathopoulos will explain the Oregon Bee Project and discuss its objectives. Melathopoulos works for the Oregon State University Department of Horticulture as assistant professor of the Pollinator Health Extension.
He will be joined by Rose Kachadoorian, a program manager for over 20 years with the Oregon Department of Agriculture Pesticides Program. She helped found the Oregon Bee Project and oversees pesticide registrations, certification and licensing of pesticide applicators and is heavily involved with pollinator protection issues at both the state and national levels. Kachadoorian is the president of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO).
The program will begin Friday, Oct. 11, at 12 p.m. at the Willamette Heritage Center at 1313 Mill Street St. SE. Registration fees are $10 for non-members. Lunch for members and non-members is $17 or $16 if payment is made with check or cash. Register online at SalemCityClub.com.
Keenan Emery
Salem City Club
https://salemcityclub.com/
keenan@prsalem.com