Pollinator kits help volunteers make a difference
Extension’s Pollinator Ambassador program was a way to stay involved for Molly Stoddard, who retired from the Fish and Wildlife Service at Prairie Wetlands in Ottertail County. “I’m still learning, but my credibility is solid for having gone through training with Bee Lab and Extension entomologists,” she said.
A pollinator kit helps in the field. “The guide includes more than meets the eye,” said Stoddard, who recently identified a brown-belted bumble bee.
Stoddard explores pollinators with groups in Fergus Falls, reaching all ages from youth campers to senior center residents. At the Fergus Falls public library rain garden, an 8-year-old girl was excited to discover a monarch caterpillar under a leaf next to its exoskeleton.
“Much of our food needs pollination, so pollinators need habitat and shelter,” said Stoddard. “Taking an interest in them even makes weeding more interesting. Take a break and see what’s buzzing all around you.”
Highlights
- RSDP impact: Working with CERTs as well as other U of M and local entities, the city of Vergas is improving municipal building energy efficiency and renewable energy integration, and developing a climate action plan.
- People don’t have to be mental health professionals to support friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need. But they may not know how. Extension helps bridge this gap by providing in-person Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training.
- Two 4-H’ers from the East Otter Tail 4-H Wranglers Club earned Community Impact recognition at the Minnesota State Fair: Beau Mursu, for a maple syrup food preservation project, and Mason Dittman, for a tanned beaver fur project.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Pesch family
- Extension’s agricultural business management team delivered farmland rent workshops in New York Mills. Farmland rental rates are one of the largest input costs for farmers. Landlords, farmers and agribusiness professionals commonly attend.
- SuperShelf: Pelican Rapids Community Food Shelf
- Former Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Shierer, a collaborator with the Climate Adaptation Partnership, has been a leader in his community in fostering conversations and actions around climate resilience.
- The Future of Tillage Field Day, held in partnership with the local SWCD, showed planting into a strip-tilled field, soil aggregate stability tests and a farmer panel.
Otter Tail County offices
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Otter Tail County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. There are two Extension offices in the county. Find out more about Extension in East Otter Tail and West Otter Tail.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.