Prairie Enthusiasts' 25th Annual Prairie Conference and All Chapter Banquet
Excitement is building for the Prairie Enthusiasts’ (TPE) 25th Annual Prairie Conference to be held on March 16th at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSUM). Co-hosted by Many Rivers Chapter of TPE and the Water Resources Center at MSUM, this year’s theme is “Pollinators: Future of our Food & Native Plant Communities.”
The conference will feature Tom Landwehr, Minnesota Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, as the opening speaker talking about The State of the State of Minnesota Prairies and Grasslands.
Keynote speaker Eric Mader, Assistant Pollinator Program Director at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Extension Professor at Entomology at the University of Minnesota, will present on how native pollinators play a critical role in both prairie ecology and agriculture.
Throughout the day there will be concurrent sessions on a diverse selection of topics including Wildlife, Prairie Restoration and Maintenance, Grassland birds, Dragonflies, Orchids, Reptiles and Amphibians and Befriending Bumble Bees.
During the luncheon, writer and canoeist Tim Krohn of the Mankato Free Press will share his experiences of paddling the entire 335 miles down the Minnesota River in 1998 and ten years later with Free Press photographer and reporter John Cross.
For the first time at a Prairie Enthusiasts’ Conference, children and their families will have a unique opportunity to be part of a free tract dedicated to environmental-related programs and activities. Children will have fun learning about the tall-grass prairie, dragonflies, snakes, wildlife, bumble bees, owls, the bison, the Dakota Indians, and much more.
For more information on the Annual Prairie Conference and how to register, go to the TPE website at http://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/conference13/conference13.htm. Early bird registration is due by March 1, 2013 (Friday).