University of Toronto - pollinator research in community gardens/urban farms
Shereen Xavier
Dear TUG members,
My name is Shereen Xavier, and I am a third year PhD student at the University of Toronto Scarborough in the B.U.G.S lab with Dr. Scott MacIvor. My research focuses on biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban agricultural landscapes. Over the course of my studies, I will be exploring the ways in which urban community gardens and farms can be used as a tool for promoting sustainable agriculture, improving food security, and fostering social and environmental justice.
I would like to reach out to community gardens and farms in the greater Toronto area, to gauge interest in participating in a study on aphid pests of crops and pollinator plants this summer (see google form).
This project focuses on the importance of pollinator plants and flowers as resources for natural enemies like aphid feeding wasps. These wasps collect pests like aphids; each wasp builds a single nest and from the nest box we can retrieve the contents to see which aphid species are collected. This information would be helpful for community gardens and growers to enhance sustainable food production and urban biodiversity in green spaces.
To facilitate this research, I would require the placement of two nest boxes that are 30cm x 10cm in size (see image below) at each site to recruit cavity nesting pollinators. If you're interested in more details about the project, please feel free to reach out to me directly (shereen...@mail.utoronto.ca)
I have worked with a few of the local community gardens over the past couple of years and I have good data from last summer! I hope that you will consider joining us to work together to create a brighter, more sustainable future for our communities.
Thank you for your time, and please fill out this (google form) if interested in participating!!
Sincerely,
Shereen Xavier
B.U.G.S lab (UTSC)