Eric Lee-Mäder – ReWilding Agriculture

Business-Organization: The Xerces Society

Author, ecologist, and farmer Eric Lee-Mäder co-directs the Pollinator Conservation and Agricultural Biodiversity program at the Xerces Society (xerces.org). In his professional role, he collaborates closely with government agencies, international development organizations, organic and natural food companies, and individual farmers to create and protect wildlife habitat on working farms. Since 2008, Eric has supported a team of insect ecologists conducting large-scale habitat restoration for pollinators and beneficial insects across more than 700,000 acres. His work has been featured in major media, cited in a 2016 White House report on pollinator conservation, and he is the lead author of several books including the best-selling Attracting Native Pollinators, and Farming with Beneficial Insects: Strategies for Ecological Pest Management. Eric has been a frequent conference keynote speaker at major farm conferences across the world, and his background includes pollination beekeeping, crop consulting for the native plant nursery industry, and a stint as an Extension professor in entomology. He and his family farm on Whidbey Island producing native plants for the conservation marketplace.

Port Townsend
Cascadia

Website: http://www.Xerces.org

Social Media: http://NorthwestMeadowscapes.com

Workshop(s)

Workshop 1: Re-Wilding Agriculture: The Case for Nature on Farms

Wild plants and animals are essential to agriculture. Whether pollinators or songbirds, native grass buffers or flowering shelterbelts, nature supports us with healthy soils and waters, natural pest suppression, carbon sequestration, abundant crop yields, and quality of life. Despite the extensively documented scientific value of biodiversity on farms, wild species continue to decline, particularly wild animals which, when globally aggregated, have declined by roughly 50% over the past 40 years. In fact, based on the best available evidence, formerly abundant wild animal species such as bumble bees, monarch butterflies and various songbirds are now edging closer to extinction. In this workshop, the Xerces Society’s’ Eric Lee-Mäder will provide an overview of the latest research and practice of integrating native plant restoration and wildlife habitat back into real world agriculture. Extensive real world case studies, including examples from some of the largest and most intensively farmed landscapes on earth will be presented along with practical advice on replicating successful models across a variety of agricultural systems.