Help us kick off our 2022 speaker series with Dr. Kim Chacon, lecturer in the Landscape Architecture Department at Cal Poly, San Luis  Obispo.

Landscape ecology is an extraordinary subject which has become evermore important in today’s changing world. In 2022, the climate is changing, more people live in urban areas than ever before and habitat for wildlife suffers from habitat fragmentation and  destruction. As gardeners and landscape designers, we have the power to help solve habitat issues with plantings for both people and wildlife.

Systematic habitat studies and modifications can accommodate animal species if we choose to help. California boasts a fantastic variety of indigenous bees, with around 2,000 species! Habitat fragmentation is a widely cited problem for native bee populations, but we have the power to help them through informed landscape design. In this talk, we will explore the habitat needs of native bees and take a look at what Cal Poly’s Landscape Architecture students have been developing over the last year. Students have been challenged to complete a series of landscape designs to ecologically encourage bees at different scales. In addition to designing excellent habitat landscapes, student designs were also challenged to educate and engage people. Sustainably resilient landscapes necessitate pollinators and the ecosystem services they provide. As designers we have the knowledge to support indispensable micro-fauna.