Gardening To Please The Birds And The Bees

Gary Fish will lead an outdoor presentation on Gardening to Please the Birds and the Bees at Merryspring Nature Center on Tuesday, June 6 at 12:00 pm.

If you have read Dr. Doug Tallamy’s books Nature’s Best Hope, Bringing Nature Home, and The Living Landscape, you understand the importance of incorporating native plants into our landscapes. Many gardens are filled with plants from Asia and Europe, which our native insects do not recognize as food sources. The lack of these insect resources impacts the ability of our birds and pollinators to raise their young . Gary will give an overview of these concerns and provide resources and ideas on how to incorporate native plants into our gardens. 

Fish received a Bachelor of Science degree in forest and wildlife management from the University of Maine in 1982 and a Master’s in Policy, Planning, and Management from USM in May. He has been the state horticulturist since 2015 and manager of Pesticide Programs for the Board of Pesticides Control from 1988 – 2014. He is a licensed professional forester and was the chair of the Arborist Board. 

Fish, who grew up in Farmington, is a landscape and nature photographer, with works featured at Phish Photography on Etsy. 

This program is part of the Summer Talk series at Merryspring, sponsored by Renys – A Maine Adventure, and co-sponsored by First National Bank and Camden Riverhouse Hotel. Attendance is free for members; $5 for non-members. 

Merryspring is your community nature center offering walking trails, cultivated gardens, wildlife, and ecology and horticulture educational programs all year round. The park is located at the end of Conway Road, just off of Route 1 in Camden behind Hannaford Shopping Plaza. For more information on this program.