| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.49 |
| Liaison | Brandon Trelstad |
| Submission Date | Dec. 8, 2021 |
Oregon State University
IN-47: Innovation A
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Brandon
Trelstad Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability Office |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
First Master Melittologists program in the nation
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Oregon is the first state in the nation to form a Master Melittologists program of trained community scientists dedicated to preserving and cataloguing bees that are native to the state.
Like OSU Extension Master Gardeners, the Master Melittologist program intensively trains volunteers on the meticulous work of locating and cataloging the bees that no one has seen before. While Oregon is known for honey bees that pollinate much of the food we eat, the state is also home to about 600 native bees, many that are pollinators, too.
“We can only say ‘about’ 600 because no one has ever done a complete inventory of which bees call Oregon home,” said Andony Melathopoulos, Oregon State University Extension pollinator health specialist. “This is troublesome because there have been emerging reports that some bee species across the world are experiencing decline. Without an inventory it is impossible to know whether bees in Oregon are having trouble or whether their populations remain stable."
The Master Melittologists program works with the Oregon Bee Atlas, which is responsible for surveying the state’s native bee population in partnership with OSU Extension Service, OSU colleges of agriculture and forestry, and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Although the Master Melittologist program just started in 2020, volunteers have been the driving force in the Oregon Bee Atlas since 2018. Over the past three years these volunteers have contributed 70,000 new bee records from every county in the state. These include some rare species, including a new metallic sweat bee from the Alvord Desert, a wool carder bee that was found nesting in the sand dunes around Newport and, in Ashland, the first recording in the state of a squash bee.
Like OSU Extension Master Gardeners, the Master Melittologist program intensively trains volunteers on the meticulous work of locating and cataloging the bees that no one has seen before. While Oregon is known for honey bees that pollinate much of the food we eat, the state is also home to about 600 native bees, many that are pollinators, too.
“We can only say ‘about’ 600 because no one has ever done a complete inventory of which bees call Oregon home,” said Andony Melathopoulos, Oregon State University Extension pollinator health specialist. “This is troublesome because there have been emerging reports that some bee species across the world are experiencing decline. Without an inventory it is impossible to know whether bees in Oregon are having trouble or whether their populations remain stable."
The Master Melittologists program works with the Oregon Bee Atlas, which is responsible for surveying the state’s native bee population in partnership with OSU Extension Service, OSU colleges of agriculture and forestry, and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Although the Master Melittologist program just started in 2020, volunteers have been the driving force in the Oregon Bee Atlas since 2018. Over the past three years these volunteers have contributed 70,000 new bee records from every county in the state. These include some rare species, including a new metallic sweat bee from the Alvord Desert, a wool carder bee that was found nesting in the sand dunes around Newport and, in Ashland, the first recording in the state of a squash bee.
Optional Fields
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None
The website URL where information about the innovation is available :
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
See also https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/new-osu-volunteer-program-tackles-statewide-native-bee-inventory
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