Save the Date

JULY 7 AND 8, 2023

OSU ALUMNI CENTER

CORVALLIS, OREGON

KEYNOTE: TOM KAYE

FRIDAY JULY 7, 9-10:30 AM

Title: Coping with Climate: How our changing environment is affecting native plants and habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Short description: Dr. Tom Kaye from the Institute for Applied Ecology will summarize some recent research from our region on how plants are responding to a changing climate. Further, he’ll consider what restoration ecologists — and gardeners — can do to help plants when their environment changes rapidly.

Bio: Tom Kaye is Executive Director and Senior Ecologist at the Institute for Applied Ecology, a nonprofit organization with a mission to conserve native habitats and species through research, restoration, and education. He is also a courtesy Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University. Tom conducts research on rare species reintroductions, pollination biology, habitat restoration, plant invasions, plant population responses to climate change, and engages prison inmates in conservation through the Sagebrush in Prisons Project. Sourcing native plants for restoration is a key area of interest, research, and publication for Dr. Kaye. He serves as a board member for the Society for Ecological Restoration.

KEYNOTE: ANDONY MELATHOPOULOS

SATURDAY JULY 8, 9-10:30 AM

Andony Melathopoulos is an Assistant Professor of Pollinator Health Extension in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. OSU’s work around pollinator health comes from mandates passed by the Oregon Legislature. He has three primary responsibilities: 1) working with land managers on reducing pesticide exposure to bees and increasing bee habitat, 2) organizing a state-wide native bee survey (the Oregon Bee Atlas), 3) outreach to Oregonians on bee biodiversity, which includes hosting a weekly podcast on pollinator health (PolliNation). He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Oregon Bee Project, which coordinates pollinator health work across state agencies. In he was recognized as the 2018 US Pollinator Advocate by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC).