Natural landscapes in the US and Canada have been drastically altered by human activities such as infrastructure development, logging, overgrazing, the introduction of invasive species, and fire suppression. 

With the current threat of climate change, it is crucial to understand the past and present ecological conditions of these landscapes to inform future restoration efforts.

The presentation will examine the past to understand grassland systems at the time of Euro-American settlement and discuss how Native Americans managed and influenced their composition through regular use of fire.

Heather will address today’s ecological conditions, focusing on oak ecosystems and grasslands, then paint a picture of what a functional, biodiverse, and resilient landscape may look like in the future and what actions are needed to achieve these outcomes.

Follow Heather online:

Facebook: PollinatorsNativePlants

Instagram: beesnativeplants

YouTube: @NativeBeesWasps

Photography Website: www.pollinatorphotos.com

iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/723565

Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards, including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (2018 and 2022, respectively). She is the founder and chair of Minnesota Native Bees, an online field guide illustrating the native bees of Minnesota and beyond.

If you attend in person, social time is 6:45-7pm, and you’re welcome to bring any of Heather’s books you own for her to sign after the presentation.

If you attend via Zoom, the link will be provided on our website closer to the event.