Next Café
Register to Join the Next Climate Café
Friday, May 29, 2026, 9–10 AM (EST)
Zoom: https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/92077290738
Meeting ID: 920 7729 0738 | Register here
Topic: ‘Minding the gaps: Floral resources for pollinators and pollinator gardening'
Café Guests
Dr. Aaaron Iverson
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6343-4226
Dr. Aaron Iverson is an ecologist, an Associate Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at St. Lawrence University, New York, USA, and a PARTAKE Africa academic researcher.
Aaron is interested in understanding how human society can grow food in ways that support both their own communities and the ecosystems and biodiversity around them. Specifically, he studies how farms and landscapes can support beneficial insects that promote biocontrol and pollination.
Aaron has conducted research around the world—from the floodplains of the Amazon to the coffee plantations of Mexico and Puerto Rico, to the maize fields of Malawi, and to the fields and forests of New York.
He is passionate about fostering local food systems, and in his spare time, you may find him in his garden or pursuing just about any non-motorized outdoor activity.
Dr. Douglas Thompson
Dr. Douglas Thompson, Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) Committee of Rotary District 6330, is a longstanding member of the Rotary Club of Stratford, Ontario.
He organizes and promotes ESRAG activities. He also participates in personal protective equipment recycling, pollinator gardens, green events and sustainability policy development.
Doug works internationally with Rotary COMMIT in Nicaragua, including in sustainable farming, clean water, and eco-friendly stoves. He is also a member of the ESRAG Clean Cooking Taskforce.
In personal life, Doug strives to be carbon neutral using an EV car, solar panels, a heat pump and consuming a plant-rich diet. He also belongs to several local groups in promoting environmental activities and the prevention of climate change.
Description
Let’s drink in the WeCLISH Climate Café Zoom Room and connect over an insightful conversation with our Café Guests: Dr. Aaron Iverson and Dr. Douglas Thompson.
Dr. Aaron Iverson, will give a talk titled "Minding the gap(s): Stabilizing the availability of broad-scale floral resources for pollinators." Introducing many pollinators in the natural habitat, he will discuss how they require a consistent supply of pollen and nectar throughout their lives. However, habitats vary drastically in when they bloom and in how many floral resources they provide. To identify the gaps, Aaron and colleagues developed a model of floral resources for a large region of New York State. It helped them to determine when and where resource gaps occur across the landscape. Aaron suggests that such knowledge can inform planting schemes—whether in an individual yard, a city park, or an entire agricultural region.
Aaron’s talk provides a perfect segue into our next guest, Dr. Thompson. He will share Rotarians’ endevours to encourage pollinator gardening in the Rotary District 6330 and beyond. Doug will especially focus on how to produce the plants by self-growing at minimal cost.
Please mark your calendar and join us to listen, get inspired – be it for research or community action, and share your thoughts for an engaging conversation!
Readings/Resources
- Sponsler, D., Iverson, A., & Steffan‐Dewenter, I. (2023). Pollinator competition and the structure of floral resources.Ecography (Copenhagen), 2023(9). https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.06651
- Li, K., Fisher, J., Power, A., & Iverson, A. (2024). A map of pollinator floral resource habitats in the agricultural landscape of Central New York. One Ecosystem: Ecology and Sustainability Data Journal, 9, 4611–4618. https://doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.9.e118634
- Environment Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). Pollinator protection. https://esrag.org/pollinators/
