Bee knowledgable

Dustin Stillinger believes it’s important to understand the processes at work in nature.
“I’d like people to have a better understanding of how it all works, how humans interact with the land,” he said Thursday.
Stillinger, certified arborist and horticulture manager at Minnetrista in Muncie, will be the after-dinner speaker at the Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District annual meeting Feb. 24. His topic: “The Buzz on Pollination.”
“Obviously everybody’s concerned about the bee decline,” said Stillinger.
But he notes that the decline has been limited to European honeybees. There are more than 450 native bee species that also act as pollinators.
In fact, said Stillinger, the European honeybee came to America in the 17th and 18th century. European settlers, he said, “brought the honeybees to supplement pollination. Several factors have been cited in the honeybee decline: The use of pesticides, monoculture farming and the elimination of fencerows that used to provide habitat.
“Historically most of the habitat for pollinators has been on the edges of those fields,” he said.
His focus won’t be on assigning blame for the bee decline but to provide a broader picture of pollinators and the pollination process.
“Let’s all better understand the issues,” he said. “In general, it’s important for farmers to have a good understanding of how the natural processes work.”
That’s also true for gardeners, who can have a positive or negative impact on pollinators depending upon what they plant and how they use pesticides.
“I want to shed a little light on how cool it is,” he said.
Stillinger, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in natural resources and environmental management, grew up in southern Indiana.
“That’s a lot of where my love of nature comes from,” he said.
When he was 13, his family moved to Union City, where his father worked for Frank Miller Lumber Company.
Stillinger has worked at Minnetrista for eight years, first as gardener for the natural areas and later as horticulture manager and arborist. He’s responsible for 21 acres at the site, including an orchard and 13 acres of natural area.
The annual meeting, set for the 4-H Building at Jay County Fairgrounds, gets underway at 3 p.m. with a series of training sessions on pesticide selection, regulations and sustaining the use of cover crops. Those sessions, led by Bryan Young of Purdue University, Dennis Brown of Brownview Seed Supply and Purdue extension educator Larry Temple, run until 5:30 p.m.
The annual dinner, which is complimentary, is set for 6 p.m., with Stillinger’s program to follow.
While the dinner is free and open to the public, reservations are required so that organizers can have an accurate meal count.
To make reservations, call (260) 726-4888, extension 107. The deadline for reservations is Friday, Feb. 12.