The Berkshire Nature Talk Series continues with a look at the insects most of us take for granted until they're gone. Kyle Bradford of the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program (FEP) joins the series to talk about bees and how they hold ecosystems and our food systems together, and what puts that work at risk.

Bradford has spent more than a decade in the field, from ant surveys in Columbia County to insect pest detection in California vineyards to graduate research on ants in the pine barrens of western Massachusetts. That range is reflected in how he talks about bees, not as an isolated topic but as one thread in a much larger web of human-managed land, landscape history, and the conservation choices we’re making right now. Expect a talk grounded in fieldwork and, given Bradford’s side career as a nature photographer, expect it to look as good as it sounds.

Bradford holds an MS in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England and a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont. He first found his footing in insect ecology as an FEP intern in 2012, and his interests have ranged across biogeography, rare species conservation, and the question of how landscape history should shape the conservation work being done today.

This event is free for West Stockbridge Historical Society members and open to the public with a suggested $10 donation for non-members. Seating is limited to 80 attendees. Cash only at door. To reserve your spot, go to weststockbridgehistory.org