Pollination Symposium | pollinationguelph

Stay-tuned for information about our 2021 Symposium

Check out our Fall 2020 Speaker Series for many of the talks that were to be held during our 2020 symposium, that unfortunately was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Below is information about our 2020 Symposium

Climate Change and Pollinators – What’s Happening and What Should We Do About It?

Pollination Guelph's 13th Annual Pollination Symposium

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Guelph Curling Club, 816 Woolwich St, Guelph

2020 Schedule and Information

Our next annual symposium, Climate Change and Pollinators – What’s Happening and What Should We Do About It? is a full day of learning, networking, displays, and more! Featuring a keynote presentation in the morning by Mhairi McFarlane of the Nature Conservancy of Canada about the actions they are taking for pollinators and conservation under the threat of climate change, and another keynote in the afternoon by Charlotte de Keyzer, University of Toronto about how pollinators and plants are reacting to climate change it is the place to be if you have any interest in pollinators or pollinator-friendly plants. It also includes presentations about native plant gardens, farming ecologically, heritage seed varieties, pesticides, land trusts, and more. As always, there will also be displays, a seed swap, sale table, and still more! Lunch and three refreshment breaks are included in your registration.

Download a copy of the schedule here or see below. Registration is now open for our wait list.

Are you a high-school, university, or college student? We will be able to offer a limited number of subsidized registrations on a first-come first-served basis again this year thanks to generous sponsors. Please select student admission when registering.

Accessibility: Please note that although the entrance of the Guelph Curling Club is accessible by wheelchairs, there is currently no large wheelchair accessible washroom stall, although there are washrooms on the main floor. Unfortunately there is no wheelchair access to the basement where additional displays may be hosted.

Platinum Sponsor: Elinesky Schuett Private Wealth Management

Silver Sponsors: Aboud & Associates Inc.; City of Guelph - Healthy Landscapes

Bronze Sponsor: University of Guelph - School of Environmental Sciences

Outline of the Day

9am Registration and Refreshments
9:25am Karin Davidson-Taylor, Pollination Guelph - Welcome
9:30am Victoria MacPhail, Pollination Guelph - Updates from Pollination Guelph and Ways to Engage, Educate, Communicate on Pollinator Topics
10:10am Clement Kent, Horticultural Societies of Parkdale and Toronto - Kathy's Garden: Adapting Pollinator Habitat to Climate Change
10:40am Refreshment Break
11:00am David Ainslie, Farmer, Essex County - Farming with Pollinators and Biodiversity in Mind
11:30am Mhairi McFarlane, Nature Conservancy of Canada - Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Actions for Pollinators Amidst a Changing Climate (Morning Keynote)
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm Charlotte de Keyzer, University of Toronto - How are Pollinators and Plants reacting to Climate Change? (Afternoon Keynote)
2:30pm Erin Aults, Royal Botanical Gardens - Heritage Seed Catalogues and the Environments They Changed
3:00pm Refreshment Break
3:20pm Andre Flys, Ontario Beekeepers Association - Beekeepers are Naturalists Too and How Climate Change is Affecting our Industry.
3:50pm Susan Chan, University of Guelph - Where Wild Meets Cultivated: The Implications for a Wild Bee of Close Association with a Crop
4:20pm Karin Davidson-Taylor, Pollination Guelph - Wrap-Up

Throughout the Day: Sale Items, Display Booths, Seed Exchange (don’t forget to bring your own seeds; donations in lieu of seeds are also accepted for swapping), Networking, and More!

We will have our Pollinator Habitat Signs available for sale (see the article by the Guelph Mercury Tribune here) during online registration and at our event. Be sure to pick up one for yourself and more for friends, family, and neighbours!

Copies of books by our 2016 keynote, Heather Holm, "Bees: An Identification and Native Plan Forage Guide" (published February, 2017) and "Pollinators of Native Plants" will be available for sale at the event as well as during online registration. All proceeds go to Pollination Guelph.

While we hope to offer the ability to pay by credit card at the the event, cash or cheques for your registration fee (if not already paid online during registration) and for any purchases (e.g. of books) that you may wish to make are preferred and will not incur an additional transaction charge. Cash may also be needed for purchases made at other vendor tables and for our seed swap table. Thanks for your understanding.

View our Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/PollinateGuelph,

Instagram feed at https://www.instagram.com/pollinateguelph/ and our Facebook feed https://www.facebook.com/PollinationGuelph/ to see highlights of the day.

If you are interested in sponsoring all or part of the day, visit our Event Sponsorship Page,

download our 2020 Sponsorship Package, and/or contact us here.