As part of UFV’s March for Sustainability, join associate professors Renee Prasad and Sandra Gillespie for a lively discussion about plants, pests, and pollinators at UFV Library’s Science Café from 4:30 to 6 pm, Wednesday, March 20, at the UFV Chilliwack library.

Learn about the little predators that stalk your garden, how to mount a successful defense against them, and how to nurture the pollinators that help your garden grow.

Prasad, also head of UFV’s Agriculture Technology department, focuses her research on agricultural pest control, including biological control.

Gillespie, associate professor of biology, has an interest in native pollinators, which means more than just bees.

“I’ll be talking about native pollinator diversity in B.C. and how our native pollinators differ from the more familiar honeybee,” Gillespie says. “In the process, folks will learn about how to support them in their back-yard gardens.”

While you’re at the library, check out the new ‘Birds & Bees’ display in the library’s back window, which includes books that the public can borrow with a community borrower card.

The Chilliwack library, which recently won UFV Sustainability Office’s gold sustainable office certification, also has a small, but growing seed library, which allows the community to borrow seeds and hand-held gardening tools. The tools and seeds are funded through a partnership with UFV’s Sustainability Office.

Science Cafés are open to anyone, offering casual, dynamic interactions between audiences and scientists. Previous Science Cafés have covered chronic pain, food sustainability, drought in the valley, and diabetes.

Science Café attendees have a chance to win door prizes. The library serves coffee and treats and will hand out a ‘plants, pests, and pollinators’ trivia sheet. Bring a reusable mug to be environmentally responsible.

The UFV Chilliwack campus is located at 45190 Caen Avenue. The library is on the main floor in A building. Arrive early to find and pay for parking. If UFV lots are full, additional parking is available near the Vedder dog park, nature playground, and pump track by the Vedder River Rotary Trail.

For more info, call the library at 604-795-2824.