Our guest speaker today was Christopher Stein. Christopher has been recommended by the District as a speaker. So far, he has done 45 presentations since January of this year. There is also an article in the October 2020 Rotarian about Operation Pollination. He has been a park ranger with the National Park Service and currently works with the National Heritage Areas (HRA) and the Large Landscape Initiatives. In addition, he serves on Rotary District 5970 Parks and Pollination Committee and ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (www.esrag.org). Christopher stated that there are 55 National Heritage Areas in the United States and currently 35 are involved with Operation Pollination. Efforts include planting/replanting NHAs, as well as private lands with plants that attract pollinators.
A major concern, according to Christopher, is that pollinators, such as bees, wasps, beetles, flies, butterflies, etc., have declined by 45% over the past 50 years. This decline in pollinators directly affects our food supplies. Chris encouraged the Club to enter into a Pollinator Resolution making a pledge to take steps to restore/develop and protect pollinator habitat. Chris stated that "if you like to eat, you should be interested in this topic." Rotary Clubs are encouraged to develop a resolution that can be shared with our Rotary District. Once the resolution is created, the next step is to create a community project such as planting pollinator friendly plants in public or private spaces. Information can be found at http://operationpollination.net.