Pollinators include animals such as bees, flies, butterflies and birds, and are responsible for sustaining ecosystems through plant pollination. These airborne travelers perform a much-need ecological service by helping plants reproduce and germinate. Equally as beneficial to residential gardeners as they are to commercial farmers, pollinators are a key part of a healthy environment. In fact, evidence has shown that the loss of pollinators severely alters landscapes and plant communities.
Conservation Café -- which consists of Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Grassroots Environmental Education, Greenburgh Nature Center, Mianus River Gorge, Pace University, Teatown Lake Reservation and Westchester Land Trust -- will gather on Friday, Oct. 14 at Pace's Pleasantville campus for a discussion on pollinators. The panel will explain the importance of pollinators, what has been happening to their populations and what homeowners can do in their own backyards to welcome the beneficial visitors.
The program will run from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. The talk will be held in the multi-purpose room on the top floor of the Kessel Student Center and is open to the public.