On Thursday at noon Caitlin Miller will present “Attracting Beneficial Insects and Pollinators” at the Heart of Virginia Master Gardeners Lunch and Learn. This will be the last program of the spring series.

Feed on weeds? Attack harmful insects without pesticides? There is a beneficial insect for that job! Increase food production through pollination? Bees have been in the news, but there are many other valuable pollinators. Can you tell which tiny creatures are helpful?

Miller has served as the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent for Prince Edward County for over three years, specializing in local food system development. Miller graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Crop and Soil Environmental Science and a minor in Civic Agriculture and Food Systems. In May, she will graduate from Green Mountain College with a M.S. degree in Sustainable Food Systems.

Miller’s work spans the entire supply chain from local food production to processing to consumption. She is particularly interested in the connection between soil health and human health and encourages consumers to always ask questions about how their food is produced.

The Prince Edward County Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Heart of Virginia Master Gardeners sponsor the Lunch and Learn series. The program will be held in the conference room of the Prince Edward County Extension Office, Dominion Drive, Farmville. Bring your lunch and learn how to attract these important creatures into your garden. The Lunch and Learn program is free, open to the public and lasts less than an hour.