October 02, 2023
9 Minutes
The word Xerces often confuses people. What does it mean and where does the name Xerces come from? Join us on this short podcast to introduce the organization that works to save insects and other invertebrates: the Xerces Society.
Show Notes & Links
Transcript
Rachel: Welcome to Bug Banter with the Xerces Society: where we explore the world of invertebrates and discover how to help these extraordinary animals.
Matthew: Hello, I'm Matthew Shepherd in Portland, Oregon.
Rachel: And I'm Rachel Dunham in Missoula, Montana. So today we're going to talk a little bit about who Xerces is for those of you who are new to our organization and they're just listening in.
Rachel: So Matthew, would you like to tell us a little bit about Xerces? Who are we?
Matthew: Yeah, we are an environmental nonprofit. Our main office is in Portland, Oregon. And but we now have more than 80 staff scattered in nearly 2 dozen states across the United States.
Matthew: And as an organization, our mission is to protect the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and the habitats.
Matthew: And by invertebrates, I mean bees, butterflies, fireflies, dragonflies, freshwater muscles.
Matthew: Bumblebees, monarch butterflies, you know, the list could go on and on and on, which is all those tiny animals that are so important for the health of our planet.
Rachel: So we have a lot of staff members, as you said, over 80. What do the staff do? Really, what does that mean to protect invertebrates on the ground conservation work. What does that look like?
Matthew: Yeah, no, but our work is focused in a number of primary issues. One of which is pollinator conservation that's being so high in everybody's awareness for the last 20 years or more.
Matthew: And that work is focused on creating habitat on the ground. We work with farmers and park managers and community gardeners, people anywhere who can be creating new habitat on the ground.
Matthew: We also work to reduce the use and impacts of pesticides. So that's wrapped up with creating safe habitat, good quality habitat.
Matthew: But that also means advocacy too. Reduce the amount of pesticides being used or where they're being used or working with agencies to change regulations on how pesticides are assessed and tested and approved.
Matthew: And we also work on protection and conservation of at risk and endangered species. Learning where those species are, what their life cycles are, what their habitat needs are, and coming up with plans on how we can best manage for them.
Matthew: But sometimes we also again advocacy working through the Endangered Species Act or the state legislation to protect truly disappearing species.
Matthew: We are also involved with community engagement and outreach. Talking to people, giving people information, trying to get them directly involved with our work and more broadly just protecting the environment.
Matthew: It's a big job. It's a lot of work to protect these little animals.
Matthew: Yes. It was our founder, Robert Michael Pyle, who actually described it as the biggest job in the world.
Rachel: Yes, it is a big job. I can attest, because I work at Xerces with a lot of amazing people.
Rachel: So one of the questions that I've gotten over the past couple of years, once I started working here was our name. When I say Xerces, they wonder, what was the word you just said?
Rachel: Where did the name come from? Can you tell listeners?
Matthew: Yeah, we're named after the Xerces Blue Butterfly, which is one of the first butterflies known to go extinct in North America because of human activity.
Matthew: It used to live on the San Francisco Peninsula in the sand dune systems around the Golden Gate and on the ocean beaches.
Matthew: And then as San Francisco extended and expanded gradually its habitat disappeared. And it was last seen flying in 1943 is the last time we know it was in the wild.
Matthew: And I, I mentioned Robert Michael Pyle. He founded Xerces in 1971 so we've been around for just over half century now. He was actually in Britain, on a Fulbright scholarship working on the study of insect conservation in Britain. He went to a lecture in London one evening and heard about the large blue butterfly which at that time was just on the verge of going extinct in Britain.
Matthew: He’d listened to that tale and realized that there was his tail of the Xerces Blue.
Matthew: He also realized that there were other organizations being created to protect birds and mammals and other wildlife but nobody's speaking out on behalf of butterflies or insects and so he decided that there should be a nonprofit organization and it's going to be called the Xerces Society. He launched it back in December, 1971.
Rachel: Wow, it's amazing that one person's passion and desire can turn into an organization over 80 people working across the country.
Matthew: Yeah, no it is, but with conservation in general, it's the passion and energy of individuals that can have such an impact, whether that's creating or organizational or just doing something in your neighborhood.
Rachel: So what are some things that people can do to get involved with the work they were doing? You talk about individuals for our listeners, what can people do?
Matthew: Well, I mean, you can just go out and start looking and admiring and enjoying the insects.
Matthew: I think that's a really good first step because if you stop and slow down, you know, take your morning coffee out into the garden. Go find a quiet patch with flowers somewhere to sit. And then just see the life that passes by as you as you're resting there.
Matthew: But we also have distinct initiatives such as to bring back the pollinators effort, supporting gardeners to do things in their own.
Matthew: In their own backyard, community card, local parks. We have the Bee City, U.S.A. and Bee Campus U.S.A. initiatives that enable communities as a whole to make a commitment to support pollinators and then to go out and create habitat and do outreach and reduce pesticides. We have the Bee Better Certified program that is for the food industry and farmers.
Matthew: We have other things such as leave the leaves and the bee safe plants that are just, you know, information campaigns and then also X Kids, an activity book that's out there to try and get children involved and aware and understanding about their the insects and what they can do.
Matthew: And then as a science base and evidence-based organization, we also have a number of community science projects such as Bumblebee Watch, Regional Bumblebee Atlas, Firefly Atlas, and the Western Monarch Count. That helps underpin and inform the work that we're doing.
Rachel: That's great. There are a lot of options so you don't have to have a backyard. You don't have to be a gardener to help save invertebrates. There's so many things that people can do and some quite simple actions that have a huge, huge impact.
Matthew: Yeah, definitely. And people often think that what they can do is not enough. But it's, it's amazing the impact you can have.
Matthew: And if you have a deck on your apartment, you could grow plants up there, you know, so every little thing, every small step that you take and help.
Rachel: Definitely. I just bought some blueberries and they had to Bee Better Certified sticker on them.
Matthew: Oh, that's great.
Rachel: I was very excited. Well, thank you, Matthew, for answering these questions. We're really excited to launch this podcast and we're looking forward to having you all join us and learning more about Xerces, the work we do and these incredible fascinating invertebrates.
Rachel: So until next time, we'll see you all soon. Thank you for joining us.
Matthew: Bug Banter is brought to you by the Xerces Society, a donor-supported nonprofit that is working to protect insects and other invertebrates -- the life that sustains us.
Matthew: If you are already a donor, thank you so much.
Matthew: If you want to support our work, go to xerces.org/donate
Matthew: For information about this podcast and show notes, go to xerces.org/bugbanter