My favorite thing about my position with Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA is getting to see our affiliates’ projects firsthand. This September, I had the opportunity to visit 7 Bee Cities and Bee Campuses (and a few applicants!) in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In-person visits give us a chance to learn about our affiliates’ pollinator habitat, pesticide reduction, and outreach accomplishments–and provide new tools and resources to help them accomplish their goals. We love supporting the creative, visionary work of our affiliates. I’d like to extend a warm thank you to all the staff, volunteers, students, elected officials, and community leaders who took the time to meet and share their work.
In this post, I share my visits to four of our Michigan Bee Campus USA affiliates: Michigan State University, Washtenaw Community College, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Michigan-Dearborn, and a bonus visit to Michigan State University-Detroit Extension Service’s Partnership for Food, Learning and Innovation (DPFLI). In my next post, I’ll share highlights from my visits with our Bee Cities: City of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, and Royal Oak.
Enjoy the tour!
Laura Rost
National Coordinator
Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA
Michigan State University
![20230926_130917_exported_2575_1697664435860 Small pink/purple flowers grow in bunches with tall green trees in the background.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/elementor/thumbs/20230926_130917_exported_2575_1697664435860-qe2dc6cs09le2ny4a4f50crt12uejjq27780543rcw.jpg)
![An outdoor sign with text, a QR code, and colorful photos of pollinators and flowers says "Please help with our pollinator research!"](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/MSU_Research_Sign_9.2023.Laura_.Rost_a-962x1024.jpg)
![Two people smile at the camera with a green meadow in the background.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/20230926_124403_exported_2642_1696454313400-768x1024.jpg)
Washtenaw Community College
![A garden with large rocks and habitat sign.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/Washtenaw-Community-College.-Laura-Rost-1024x768.jpg)
![Raised beds of flowering plants in a high tunnel greenhouse.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/20230928_102844-768x1024.jpg)
![20230928_103225~2 A black and yellow bumble bee nectars on a bright pink zinnia.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/elementor/thumbs/20230928_1032252-scaled-qez2oipklgkbycbohhkvdba6p9t823mmi7zr0aezi8.jpg)
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
![6 people stand in a row smiling, with tall green plants and a gray building in the background.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/UMAnnArbor_Sheila.Schueller.9.2023b-1024x768.jpg)
![An outdoor interpretive sign with text and flowers, surrounded by green plants.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/20230928_123901-1024x768.jpg)
![20230928_134157 A taller, green meadow in front of a gray-beige building with a blue sign. To the right is a walkway leading to front doors.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/elementor/thumbs/20230928_134157-scaled-qez2owt7vond3be3cu1p2nqsx1el1ano4rypgbqmxw.jpg)
University of Michigan-Dearborn
![Six people stand in from of a large bee hotel in the shape of an "M".](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/University-of-Michigan-Dearborn-Insect-Hotel.-CreditUMDearborn-1024x768.jpg)
![20230929_125324.Laura Rost resized As you can see, UM Dearborn keeps their bee hotel clean and well-maintained. Leaving the leaves, saving the stems, and other natural nesting sites are also key components of their pollinator habitat. Credit: Laura Rost / Xerces Society](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/elementor/thumbs/20230929_125324.Laura-Rost-resized-qez2owt5fz3mshr775o9wpq3m1vq9k6lk5s17fu2wm.jpg)
![](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/IMG_6178Grace-Maves-1024x768.jpg)
Bonus site visit: Michigan State University-Detroit Extension Service's Partnership for Food, Learning and Innovation (DPFLI) with Detroit Hives
![Four people stand around a large brown sign in front of a white building.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/Detroit.MSU_.DPFLI_.Credit.Detroit.Hives_.jpg)
![20230925_100356.Laura Rost Detroit Hives transforms vacant Detroit lots into urban bee farms and has created beautiful pollinator gardens that benefit our native pollinators, too. Here Timothy Jackson, Co-Executive Director of Detroit Hives showed us how they modified a honey bee hive box to become a native bee hotel. Credit: Laura Rost / Xerces Society](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/elementor/thumbs/20230925_100356.Laura-Rost-scaled-qez2o9b6p47gq8pc0dilodnkrf3jx4lb4xgw7isx8g.jpg)
![20230925_100235 Swirling paths of brown mulch around green native plants with tall beehives in the background.](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/elementor/thumbs/20230925_100235-scaled-qez2o7fkr5omdueyh12rpc5cvmvo9gux1aclhus9lw.jpg)
![](https://cdn.beecityusa.org/uploads/2023/10/20230925_122539_exported_26402.jpg)
Stay tuned for the recap of our visits with Bee City USA affiliates City of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, and Royal Oak!