Bee City USA

Bring Back the Pollinators: Managing Pests While Protecting Pollinators
2022-07-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
How can we manage pests while protecting pollinators in home yards? Good garden pollinator habitat requires flowering plants and undisturbed places for pollinators to nest, but home landscapes also need to be protected from pesticides. Join Aaron Anderson, Xerces Pesticide Program Specialist, to touch on a few key pesticide concerns, and talk about alternative methods to reduce pest pressure. In particular, we will learn about some of the common beneficial insects that pollinator plantings can support and how they contribute to pest control.
This is the second webinar in the four-part series Bring Back the Pollinators.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
Click here for more information and to register for free.

Aaron Anderson
Pesticide Program Specialist – The Xerces Society
Aaron Anderson works with the public and Xerces staff to reduce pesticide use in residential landscapes, including promoting alternative pest control measures and pollinator-friendly gardening practices. Prior to joining Xerces in 2022, he researched pollinator conservation in urban landscapes, restored habitat for several endangered butterfly species, and worked in insect biocontrol. In 2021 he was an AAAS Mass Media Fellow at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he reported science and business stories. Aaron has a PhD from Oregon State University, and outside of work you can probably find him riding his bike, science writing, or fiddling with old cameras.

Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA Open House: Pesticide Reduction Strategies
2022-07-27 10:00 - 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Reducing pesticide impacts and use is a key component of being a Bee City or Campus, but how this is achieved varies from one region to another as well as the specific location (is it a garden or a park, a formal planting or a natural area?). Join Sharon Selvaggio and Aaron Anderson of the Xerces Society’s Pesticide Team for an “ask me anything”-style open house! We’ll do a short presentation on practical ways to reduce pesticide usage, followed by an extended Q&A session on anything Bee City/Campus or pesticide-related. This session is great for new or longtime participants.
Bring your questions and please feel free to share your favorite pesticide reduction strategies with the group! This webinar will be recorded and available upon request: laura.rost@xerces.org.

Speakers:
Sharon Selvaggio
Pesticide Program Specialist, Parks, Nurseries & Natural Areas Lead – The Xerces Society
Aaron Anderson
Pesticide Program Specialist – The Xerces Society
Laura Rost
​Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA Coordinator – The Xerces Society

Bring Back the Pollinators: Get the word out!
2022-08-25 10:00 - 11:00 UTC | Online
Join the Xerces Community Engagement team for an exploration of various ways to spread the word about pollinator conservation and how to get your community more involved. See examples of what others have done and learn about Bee City USA, the Pollinator Protection Pledge, and X Kids, a new Xerces program.
This is the third webinar in the four-part series in Bring Back the Pollinators.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
Click here for more information and to register.

Matthew Shepherd
Director of Outreach and Education – The Xerces Society
Matthew has worked for the Xerces Society for more than two decades, initially at the vanguard of a new movement to protect pollinators, but then on endangered species and a range of other projects. He is the long-time editor of Wings magazine, and he spent several years leading Xerces’ communications effort. His current work is focused on outreach, community engagement, and conservation in towns and cities. Matthew is author of numerous articles and other publications, including Attracting Native Pollinators (Storey Publishing, 2011) and Gardening for Butterflies (Timber Press, 2016).

Laura Rost
Bee City USA Coordinator – The Xerces Society
Laura has worked in development and communications for environmental groups since 2005, and has been with the Xerces Society since 2014. She loves to connect with members and share Xerces resources with the public. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a certificate in nonprofit management from Southern Oregon University. While at SOU, Laura led the successful student referendum to offset 100% of natural gas and electricity consumed at university facilities through the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs), making SOU the first public university in the nation to do so. At her home in Milwaukie, Oregon, Laura is converting her yard into pollinator habitat and an urban farm. She volunteers for her local school district’s clothes closet and food bank, and serves on the board of the Milwaukie Pioneer Cemetery.

Rachel Dunham
Community Engagement Coordinator – The Xerces Society
Engagement Coordinator, Rachel has built our volunteer program from the ground up and is finding new ways for Xerces to connect to communities. As an Oregonian, she has always loved wildlife and being outdoors. Rachel pursued her passion for nature at Seattle Pacific University, graduating with a bachelor’s in ecology, and earning a master’s of wildlife conservation from the University of Maine. She spent years traveling between Alaska and Hawaii, working as a naturalist for the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Princess Cruise Lines. Rachel also worked as a research associate in Panama and northern British Columbia. Before Xerces, Rachel worked at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, managing their public programs. Rachel lives in Missoula, Montana with her husband Chad and their dog Bear. They spend their time hiking, camping, and traveling the world.

Bring Back the Pollinators: Providing Nesting Habitat for Bees
2022-09-29 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET

The availability of nesting habitat is a critical yet often overlooked factor impacting native bee populations. In this webinar, Xerces Biologists, Leif Richardson and Sarah Foltz Jordan, will summarize nesting biology of major groups of bees, including leaf-cutter bees, mining bees, bumble bees, and many more. They will also offer numerous practical approaches to creating and managing nesting habitat features. Approaches are relevant to landscapers, farmers, gardeners, natural resource professionals, and anyone interested in taking the next step in supporting pollinators. Community science opportunities will also be discussed.
This is the fourth webinar in the four-part series Bring Back the Pollinators.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
Click here for more information and to register for free.

Sarah Foltz Jordan
Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist Habitat Restoration Specialist, Great Lakes Region – The Xerces Society
Based out of central Minnesota, Sarah leads Xerces’ upper Midwest native bee and monarch habitat restoration projects, working closely with farmers, agencies, and conservation groups to promote pollinators on farms and in natural areas. Sarah provides habitat restoration support to hundreds of farmers and farm agency professionals across the upper Midwest, with an emphasis on the testing of new, cutting-edge restoration methods on a wide range of fruit, vegetable, and grain farms. Currently she is a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Pollinator Protection Committee, and a consultant on habitat management for at-risk pollinators on public lands in Minnesota. She has authored comprehensive documents about the biology and conservation needs of nearly 200 rare invertebrates, along with numerous pollinator-related fact sheets, guidebooks, and educational tools. Sarah is also an organic apple farmer and is active in the sustainable agriculture community. She holds a master’s degree.

Leif Richardson
Conservation Biologist California Bumble Bee Atlas – The Xerces Society
Leif is a conservation biologist who coordinates the California Bumble Bee Atlas project. His research focuses on the ecology, distribution, and declines of North American bumble bees. Leif previously worked as an environmental consultant, studying pesticide risk to bee pollinators, and as an ecologist for Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. He is co-author of a range of scientific publications on bees, including Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (2014, Princeton University Press), the standard reference manual on this group of insects. He is an expert in the inventory and identification of bumble bees, and has extensive experience training others to collect bumble bee distribution data in the field. Leif holds a Master’s degree from the University of Arizona and a PhD from Dartmouth College.

A Win-Win for Insects: Nature-Based Climate Solutions Address both Climate Change and Biodiversity Concerns
2022-10-06 10:00 - 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Join Xerces Society Executive Director, Scott Black, as we kick off our next webinar series: Threats and Solutions. With well over one million known species, insects and other invertebrates eclipse all other forms of life on Earth. They are essential to the reproduction of most flowering plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and nuts; they are food for birds, fish, and other animals; they filter water and help clean rivers and streams; and they clean up waste from plants and animals. Just four of the many insect services—dung burial, pest control, pollination, and wildlife nutrition—have an estimated annual value in the United States alone of at least $70 billion.
Though they are indisputably important, insects and other invertebrates are experiencing a multicontinental crisis evident as reductions in abundance, diversity and biomass. Given the centrality of insects to terrestrial and freshwater aquatic ecosystems and the food chain that supports humans, the potential importance of this crisis cannot be overstated.
The loss of insect diversity is driven by habitat loss and degradation, pesticide use, climate change, diseases and more. The science is clear: It is impossible to address the loss of biodiversity without addressing climate change, but equally impossible to tackle the full impacts of climate change without working to protect and enhance biodiversity. Scott will discuss how nature-based solutions can address both.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Scott Black
Executive Director – The Xerces Society
Scott Black is an internationally renowned conservationist who has been at the forefront of the conservation movement for three decades. Scott’s work has led to protection and restoration of habitat on millions of acres of rangelands, forests, and farmland as well as protection for many endangered species.

Are Plants Sold as Pollinator-friendly also Pollinator-safe? The Case of Milkweed and How to Help
2022-10-12 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
A recently published study reported that milkweeds purchased from retail nurseries across 15 states contained an average of 12 pesticides per plant. Join the lead researchers from the University of Nevada-Reno and Xerces Society to learn more about the findings and to learn what consumers and retailers can do to help turn the tide toward greater availability of pollinator-safe plants from U.S. nurseries. A thirty minute presentation will be followed by 30 minutes for Q and A.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Chris Halsch
PhD candidate – University of Nevada Reno
Chris is a PhD candidate at the University of Nevada Reno where he studies the impacts of global change on butterfly populations, especially climate change and pesticides. This can take the form of running through the mountains with a net or slumped over a laptop in a coffee shop. When not in the mountains for work he goes to the mountains for pleasure!

Sharon Selvaggio
Pesticide Program Specialist Parks, Nurseries & Natural Areas Lead – The Xerces Society
Sharon assists Xerces staff, partners, and the public to reduce reliance on pesticides and understand pesticide risk to invertebrates. Sharon previously worked at Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, and integrates her focus on pesticides with her experience managing natural areas and agricultural lands. Sharon earned a master’s of science in energy and resources and a bachelor of arts in biology, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Sharon spends a lot of time in her vegetable garden, which has an always-buzzing insectary/pollinator patch, and she is a frequent visitor to the Pacific northwest’s wildlands for recreation.

In-Person Workshop: Implementing a community-wide pollinator protection program
2022-10-12 13:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | University of Georgia, 1197 S Lumpkin St, Athens, GA, 30602, United States
Optional workshop: “Implementing a community-wide pollinator protection program” at the Protecting Pollinators in Urban Landscapes 2022 conference (October 10-12) held at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA.
Workshop led by Laura Rost, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Peter Helfrich, Decatur, GA Bee City; and Tyra Byers, University of Georgia Bee Campus.

Simplifying Your Bee City and Bee Campus Outreach: A Template Presentation on "How to Reduce Pesticides at Home"
2022-10-27 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Education and outreach to the broader community is a key component of Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA. In this webinar, staff from the Xerces Society’s pesticide reduction team will demonstrate a free, template presentation “How to Reduce Pesticides at Home,” that affiliate cities and campuses can download and present at local events. The pesticide reduction staff will answer questions and offer tips on how to conduct more effective pesticide reduction outreach.
This free event will be recorded and available to affiliates.

External webinar: Pollinators, Pesticides & People: Landscaping Certifications Explained
2022-11-09 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Presentation by Laura Rost, coordinator of Bee Campus USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society, and Sheina Crystal, Director of Communications and Campaigns at Rewild Your Campus (formerly Herbicide Free Campus).
Interested in sustainability certifications for your campus landscape? We’re here to help! Join Bee Campus USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society, and Rewild Your Campus to learn more about the two organizations’ certification programs. We have tools, resources and advice on how to reduce pesticide use and increase pollinator habitat to improve the health and safety of your campus for bees, beneficial insects and people.
These certifications cover pesticide reduction, soil health, native plants, classroom education, coalition building and how to build a healthier campus! Hear the benefits and requirements of these different programs and see examples of real-world sustainability successes from a variety of participating colleges and universities.

We Need to Talk About Honeybees
2022-11-10 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
To help ensure healthy ecosystems and successful harvests, pollinator conservation is essential. For many people, pollinator conservation is synonymous with the honey bee and beekeeping, but the story is bigger than that; much, much bigger than that. As we work to conserve pollinators, we need to ensure that our efforts are best directed where they are needed most, and not just at what is easiest to accomplish. While honey bees are important for our current agricultural systems, their role in our natural areas, and even in our urban and suburban areas, is more complicated. Join Xerces Society Senior Conservation Biologist Rich Hatfield for an honest conversation about the unseen consequences that a focus on honey bees can have, and how we can focus our actions in ways that will create positive change, for all pollinators.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Rich Hatfield
Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist Bumble Bee Conservation Lead – The Xerces Society
Rich manages all aspects of the Xerces Society’s work on bumble bees. In addition to his skills as a research biologist, Rich also has extensive classroom teaching experience with a focus on conservation biology, ecology, and sustainability.

Practitioners Talk About IPM: Turning Lemons into Lemonade - the Story of Wilsonville, OR
2022-11-15 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
A private parking lot in Wilsonville, Oregon became the unexpected site of the country’s largest bumble bee kill, when an estimated 50,000-100,000 bumble bees died during Pollinator Week in 2013, after neonicotinoid insecticide was applied to linden trees located in the lot. Since then, the City of Wilsonville has rallied to support bee conservation through joining Bee City USA and establishing its Bee Stewards Wilsonville program. Join Kerry Rappold, Natural Resources Program Manager for the City of Wilsonville, who will discuss the city’s work since the bee kill, including pollinator habitat establishment, integrated pest management in parks and public spaces, residential education, and involvement in state policy work.
This event will include auto-generated closed captioning and will be recorded and available to Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates.

Kerry Rappold
Natural Resources Manager – City of Wilsonville
During his 21 years with the City of Wilsonville, Kerry Rappold has had responsibility for program development; compliance with local, state and federal requirements; capital project planning and implementation; stormwater management and permitting; managing enhancement and restoration projects; pollinator conservation; and environmental education. Kerry’s previous work experience has included silviculture and urban forestry, watershed management and monitoring, and regulatory review and permitting.

Pollinators in the woods? The place of wild bees in a changing forested landscape
2023-01-26 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Come join Kass Urban-Mead, Xerces Pollinator Conservation Specialist, NRCS Partner Biologist, for an adventure exploring how wild bees use the woods–from the leafy forest floor to the tippy top of the canopy. Although we usually think of bees busy in our gardens, flower patches, and meadows (which is true!), that is not the only place they are found. In fact, in the northeastern US up to 1/3 of our wild bee species may rely on forest habitats for at least a part of their life cycle. Some are specialized to only collect pollen from spring ephemerals on the forest floor, while others nest in stumps, logs, and leaf litter deep in the woods, and orchard pollinators use forest canopy pollen before the orchards bloom. We will discuss the changing nature of forests on our landscape and how this is likely to affect different groups of bees. Finally, we will highlight ways in which forest management for healthy, diverse, climate-resilient woods is crucial not just for birds and other wildlife, but also for the bees.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Kass Urban-Mead
Pollinator Conservation Specialist, NRCS Partner Biologist – The Xerces Society
Kass Urban-Mead provides technical assistance on pollinator conservation in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region. As part of this work, she assists with planning, designing, installing, and managing habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects. Kass also works with staff and research partners to develop technical guidelines and provide training on pollinator conservation practices.

Pollinator and Beneficial Insect Habitat: Small Urban Farms and Community Spaces
2023-02-09 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Urban landscapes are diverse and can provide unique habitat opportunities for pollinators and other beneficial invertebrates. However, habitat loss in urban areas is a driving factor of insect decline. Small urban farms and community gardens are great locations to add in native habitat pockets, strips, hedgerows, gardens, and more. At the same time, these habitats can be designed to offer many added benefits for wildlife, crop production, water quality, stormwater management, education, and the community! Growing food in urban spaces is not a new practice, but its presence is increasing in many cities as more people are taking an active role in where their food comes from and the betterment of their communities and environment. Join Xerces Society staff Mace Vaughan, Pollinator Conservation Program Co-Director, and Stefanie Steele, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, as they dive deeper into the issue of pollinator habitat loss in urban landscapes and how we can tackle this while also addressing other conservation and climate change challenges. They will also provide resources and techniques you can use on your small urban farm or community garden to increase native biodiversity and attract pollinating insects, beneficial predatory insects, and more!
This webinar is hosted by Xerces Society and will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Stefanie Steele
Pollinator Conservation Specialist for Urban and Small Farms in Underserved Communities and NRCS Partner Biologist – The Xerces Society
Stefanie is the Pollinator Conservation Specialist for Urban and Small Farms in Underserved Communities and a NRCS Partner Biologist in the Upper Midwest – Detroit, Michigan area. Through this work, she provides technical assistance, planning, and education on incorporating pollinator and other beneficial invertebrate habitat in small urban agricultural areas and community gardens in historically excluded communities. Her work supports projects including the Xerces Habitat Kit Program, People’s Garden Initiative, and NRCS Conservation Programs through the USDA Farm Bill.

Mace Vaughan
Pollinator and Agricultural Biodiversity Co-Director – The Xerces Society
Mace Vaughan serves as the Xerces Society’s Pollinator and Ag Biodiversity Conservation Program Co-Director, and as a Conservation Entomologist and Partner Biologist to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) West National Technology Support Center in Portland, Oregon. Mace has led Xerces’ Pollinator Conservation Program since 2003 and has acted as a Partner Biologist to the NRCS since 2008. In his tenure at the Xerces Society, the pollinator program has grown from a small pilot project on California farms to a national program implementing pollinator conservation projects across the U.S. Mace co-leads a team of 25 pollinator conservation specialists and several consultants across the U.S., and now helps to supervise the world’s largest pollinator conservation team.

Ecologically-Sound Mosquito Management at Home
2023-03-02 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Mosquitos are a nuisance at best and health risk at worst, so it’s understandable why many people turn to insecticides to try and control these pests. Though spraying may seem like a quick and easy way to deal with mosquitos, it’s often an ineffective control strategy. Worse, these insecticides are toxic to pollinators and other beneficial insects. Join Aaron Anderson, Xerces Pesticide Program Specialist, to touch on the risks that mosquito spraying poses and discuss practical, alternative methods of mosquito control in residential landscapes.
This free Xerces Society webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Aaron Anderson
Pesticide Program Specialist – The Xerces Society
Aaron Anderson works with the public and Xerces staff to reduce pesticide use in residential landscapes, including promoting alternative pest control measures and pollinator-friendly gardening practices. Prior to joining Xerces in 2022, he researched pollinator conservation in urban landscapes, restored habitat for several endangered butterfly species, and worked in insect biocontrol. In 2021 he was an AAAS Mass Media Fellow at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he reported science and business stories. Aaron has a PhD from Oregon State University, and outside of work you can probably find him riding his bike, science writing, or fiddling with old cameras.

"Tracks and Scat: Who Pooped In The Park"
2023-03-11 00:00 - 14:30 UTC
The Park Naturalist will give a fun and informative talk about how to identify he wild critters who left their mark in the park. Children who attend will receive a nature related do-at-home project kit.

No Mow May? No Mow April? Low Mow Spring?
2023-03-16 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
No Mow May has garnered a lot of media attention in the past few years. It’s catchy and succinct, but is it the best fit for your community this spring — and will pausing mowing for a few weeks really save the bees? Join Xerces Society Outreach and Education Director Matthew Shepherd and Bee City USA Coordinator Laura Rost for a presentation on low mow and no mow options, and how No Mow May can be an opening to talk to the public about what really needs doing to protect pollinators during this important time of the year. We’ll allow plenty of time for discussion, so feel free to share your research and strategies.
This free Bee City USA webinar is hosted by Xerces Society and will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel on the Bee City USA playlist. Auto-generated Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Matthew Shepherd, Outreach and Education Director
Matthew has spent more than 35 years working with people from all walks of life to create better places for wildlife. His career began in England and took him to Kenya before his arrival in the United States. He has worked for the Xerces Society for two decades, initially at the vanguard of the movement to protect pollinators, but he shifted to communications, and now community engagement and conservation in towns and cities. Matthew is author of numerous articles and other publications, including Attracting Native Pollinators (Storey Publishing, 2011) and Gardening for Butterflies (Timber Press, 2016).

Laura Rost, Bee City USA Coordinator

Laura supports communities working to reduce pesticide use and protect native pollinators. She has been with the Xerces Society since 2014, first working in membership. Before Xerces, she worked for a variety of environmental groups on issues ranging from instream water rights to green building. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and has a certificate in nonprofit management from Southern Oregon University (the first Bee Campus affiliate!).

No Mow May: Bringing Your Community on Board
2023-04-26 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
What does it take to make change in your community? No Mow May is a classic example of the hard work that it will take to engage with your local representatives to enact positive change in your community. Dr. Israel Del Toro and Ald. Alex Shultz will chat about their experiences over the last few years of enacting No Mow May in Appleton, WI. There is a need to be able to listen closely, empathize with your neighbors and at the same time balance the need for environmental stewardship.
This free Bee City USA webinar is hosted by Xerces Society and will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel on the Bee City USA playlist. Auto-generated Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Alex Schultz

Alex Schultz is the Executive Director of Sculpture Valley, a non-profit advocacy group for public arts established in 2011 to restore, protect and promote public arts in the Fox Valley. Since it’s inception, the group has worked with the city and community leaders to address the neglect of the city’s sculptural and memorial assets, successfully lobbying to establish a public fund in 2015 for future restoration and preservation efforts. Alex is the Alderperson for District 9 in Appleton and has served as the co-chair of the Pollenablers-Fox Cites group since its inception. He has worked alongside his counterparts on Council, now including Alderperson Del Toro and longstanding co-chair, Vered Melzer to propel environmental and social initiatives forward and was the co-author of the first No Mow May resolution in the United States.
Israel Del Toro
Israel Del Toro Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at Lawrence University in Appleton WI. His research focuses on the ecology and conservation of social insects.

Herbicides: A Double-Edged Sword? What We Know about Herbicide Impacts on Pollinators
2023-04-27 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Herbicides, “the chemical hoe,” make up more than half of global pesticide sales and use, and are widely applied in agriculture, residential landscapes, and natural areas. Along with reducing the availability of food and shelter for pollinators, herbicides may have some direct effects on insects exposed in air, soil, water, and plants. Join Emily May, Pollinator Conservation Specialist with the Pesticide Program at Xerces, to get up to speed on what’s currently known about the direct and indirect effects of herbicides on pollinators.
This free Xerces Society webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Emily May
Pollinator Conservation Specialist Agricultural Lead – The Xerces Society
Emily May is a Pollinator Conservation Specialist with the Xerces Society’s Pesticide Program. She received a master’s of science in entomology from Michigan State University, and has studied pollinator habitat restoration, bee nesting habits, and the effects of pest management practices on wild bee communities. Her work with Xerces since 2015 has focused on supporting crop pollinators through habitat creation and protecting bees and other beneficial insects from pesticides.

Lights Out for Fireflies and Other Insects
2023-05-11 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Insect populations around the world are declining rapidly. But why? While habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change all have something to do with it, I show in this talk that light pollution is another important — but too often overlooked — bringer of the insect apocalypse. Light pollution interferes with the development, movement, foraging, and reproduction of diverse insect species, including many that we know and love such as fireflies. Fortunately, there are many simple things that we can all do to help reverse this driver of insect declines. Light pollution can be cheaply, easily, and instantly eliminated, and doing so can help ensure that we live in harmony with our insect friends and neighbors for generations to come.
This free Xerces Society webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Dr. Avalon C.S. Owens – The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Dr. Avalon C.S. Owens (owenslab.org) received her Ph.D. in Biology from Tufts University in spring 2022, where she studied the impact of artificial light on bioluminescent fireflies. She also holds a B.A. in Integrative Biology from Harvard University and an M.S. in Entomology from National Taiwan University.

Beyond the Backyard: Native Planting for Public Landscapes
2023-06-07 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Detroit) | EPA’s Campus in Research Triangle Park (RTP), 109 TW Alexander Dr, Durham, NC, 27709, United States
This day-long forum will focus on the use of native plants in public-facing and large-format landscapes. Envision how public spaces can be redesigned to allow native species to thrive. Learn why this practice can increase biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with smart operational cost considerations.
This forum is designed for owners and managers of public-facing and large-format landscapes and landscape professionals in the Triangle area. It is not geared for homeowners, but it is for mangers of homeowners associations and corporate landscapes, etc and the professionals who support or advocate for native plantings.
Format will include panelist presentations and discussions of local examples of these landscaping methods, practical lessons learned and recommendations for best practices. Landscape Architecture CEU credits will be offered – please inquire.
We will offer tours to actual landscape examples on Thursday June 8! Visit the Tours Page to learn about and register for tour options.
JUNE 7 AGENDA
8:00 CHECK IN
9-9:30 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
9:45-10:45 PANEL 1: “THE WHY” FOR NATIVE PLANTS IN PUBLIC PLACES

Barbara Driscoll, New Hope Audubon Society
Gabrielle Garrison, Eastern Piedmont Habitat Conservation Coordinator at NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Neal Wisenbaker, Horticulturalist for the City of Raleigh

10:45-11 BREAK
11-12 PANEL 2: CASE STUDIES: LARGE SCALE SITES

Nick Adams, Land Stewardship Manager (West) at Triangle Land Conservancy
Basil Camu, Wizard of Things at Leaf & Limb
Jeff Masten and Hiedi Hanapal, Co-founders and Co-directors of Bluestem Conservation Cemetery
Kaitlin Hartmann, Environmental Protection Agency
Moderator: Dan Stern, Director of Horticulture at the NC Botanical Garden

12-1:30 LUNCH & ONSITE TOURS & NETWORKING
1:30-2:30 PANEL 3: CASE STUDIES: SMALL SCALE SITES

Ben Bergmann, Horticulturalist for the City of Durham
Jared Carter, Principal Scientist at Syngenta
Annabel Renwick, Curator of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at Duke Gardens
David Dean, Green Team at IBM RTP
Moderator: Ashley Troth, Horticulture Agent at Durham County Cooperative Extension

2:30-2:45 BREAK
2:45-3:15 FEATURE SPEAKER

Johnny Randall, Director of Conservation at NC Botanical Garden

3:15-3:45 FEATURE SPEAKER 2
3:45-4:00 CONCLUDING REMARKS & CLOSING CALL TO ACTION
4:00-4:30 ACTIVITY: EVALUATION, PLANNING, NEEDS

Mentorship mapping with feedback opportunities and time for questions.

5:00 VACATE BUILDING
Register Here for Forum ($30)

JUNE 8 TOUR SCHEDULE
9 am – Duke Gardens (small scale)
420 Anderson St, Durham, NC 27708
9 am – Chapel Hill Public Library (small scale)
100 Library Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
11 am – Downtown Durham (small scale)
400 N Mangum St, Durham, NC 27701
11 am – Leaf & Limb Project Pando (large scale)
511 Nowell Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607
1pm – NC Museum of Art in Raleigh (large scale)
2110 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607
1 pm – Bluestem Conservation Cemetery (large scale)
1900 Hurdle Mills Rd, Cedar Grove, NC 27231
3 pm – Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve Park (large scale)
5229 Awls Haven Dr, Raleigh, NC 27614
Register Here for Tours (no cost)

Webinar: NC Participates in the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census
2023-06-07 13:30 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | Online
North Carolina Webinar: Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Webinar Time: 1:30 pm-3:00 pm Eastern Time
Where: Zoom (link to be sent out day before!)
Who: ANYONE in North Carolina! Citizens, Extension Master Gardeners, schools, teachers, students, parents, homeschool groups, businesses, non-profits, government organizations, etc.
Contact: Amanda Wilkins, amwilkin@ncsu.edu
Date of the Census for 2023: Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 19
Join the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census team to learn about the Census, how to participate in the Census, how to bring the Census to your community or organizations, and ask questions with the experts. If you want to help scientists understand what kind of insects are in your backyard, this is the project for you! The Census is a citizen science project in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, created by the University of Georgia and was formerly known as the Great Georgia Pollinator Census.

Learn more about the Census here: https://ggapc.org/

A Playful Nursery Gets Serious About Pollinator Safety: The Example of Harlequin’s Gardens
2023-06-15 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This event will be recorded and posted to: The Xerces YouTube Channel

We are excited to invite Mikl Brawner, founder and co-owner of Harlequin’s Gardens in Boulder Colorado, to this webinar. Mikl will discuss Harlequin’s philosophy about plant health and their non-toxic pest management practices. Sharon Selvaggio, Pesticide Program Specialist at Xerces, will start off the webinar with an overview of why pollinator-safe nursery practices are important, and what plant buyers can do to identify and patronize pollinator-safe nurseries. Participants in this webinar will come away with an enhanced appreciation of the qualities to look for when sleuthing out pollinator-safe nurseries.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed captions will be available during this webinar.

Sharron Selvaggio
Pesticide Program Specialist, Parks, Nurseries & Natural Areas Lead – The Xerces Society
Sharon assists Xerces staff, partners, and the public to reduce reliance on pesticides and understand pesticide risk to invertebrates. Sharon previously worked at Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, and integrates her focus on pesticides with her experience managing natural areas and agricultural lands. Sharon earned a Master of Science in energy and resources and a Bachelor of Arts in biology, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Sharon spends a lot of time in her vegetable garden, which has an always-buzzing insectary/pollinator patch, and she is a frequent visitor to the Pacific northwest’s wildlands for recreation.

Mikl Brawner
Founder and Co-owner – Harlequin’s Gardens
Mikl Brawner got his initial training along the creeks and woods of eastern Iowa. He studied biology at the University of Iowa, then went to India with the Peace Corps. Back in America, he managed a small organic apple orchard, and operated a tree care business. Studying plants, researching alternatives to pesticides, and developing a xeriscape garden led him from the treetops to a plant nursery. Now the evolving Harlequin’s Gardens is his lifework, helping the gardening community to bring nature into their personal lives and homes using sustainable plants, materials and methods. His current passion is soil health and energy-efficient greenhouses. He was honored with the 2009 PaceSetter Award for the Environment.

Webinar: The Buzz on Florida's Pollinators
2023-06-15 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Moths, flies, mosquitos… You will be surprised at how many different pollinators there are in Florida! In this class we will explore how plants have adapted to ensure their flowers are pollinated, why this is important, and the diversity of pollinators in our state.
This webinar is recommended for adults and youth over 12.
Pinellas County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this class you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Prior to ten (10) business days before the class, please submit your request to accommodations@pinellas.gov and weedonisland@pinellas.gov. In your request, please include the date and title of the program you need accommodations for, indicate that the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center is the program host, and describe the specific accommodations you will need.

Pollinator Week
2023-06-19 - 2023-06-25
Stay tuned for an updated Bee City/Campus Promo Kit in our June eNewsletter!

Bee City & Bee Campus USA Virtual Affiliate Meetup: SW Region
2023-06-27 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Online
Join Kaitlin Haase, the Xerces Society’s Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist, for a short presentation on Southwest pollinator conservation activities, followed by an extended Q&A and group discussion with Kaitlin and Bee City and Bee Campus USA National Coordinator Laura Rost. This is an opportunity to share your successes, ask for advice, and connect with your fellow affiliate cities and campuses.
We’re loosely defining the borders for our regional meetings, so feel free to join us if you are a Bee City or Bee Campus affiliate in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, southern California, Texas, or Oklahoma. More regional meetings to come this summer!
This free Bee City USA webinar is hosted by Xerces Society and will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel on the Bee City USA playlist. Auto-generated Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Kaitlin Haase
Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist
The Xerces Society

As the Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Kaitlin works to create climate-resilient, connected pollinator habitat in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. She collaborates with and educates public and private urban land managers in New Mexico and the desert Southwest on pollinator-friendly practices for landscaping, gardening, and open space restoration. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Northern Arizona University, where she studied impacts of drying on aquatic invertebrate diversity in natural and human-made ponds. Before graduate school, she worked as an ecological science technician in a variety of systems across the US, including predator-prey ecology in Michigan, riparian restoration in Virginia, and rare species monitoring in Massachusetts.

Bee City & Bee Campus USA Virtual Affiliate Meetup: Great Lakes Region
2023-07-18 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Join Xerces Society’s Stefanie Steele, Pollinator Conservation Specialist for Urban and Small Farms in Underserved Communities and NRCS Partner Biologist, and Micah Kloppenburg, Wisconsin Pollinator Conservation Specialist for a short presentation on Great Lakes pollinator conservation activities, followed by an extended Q&A and group discussion with Stefanie, Micah, and Bee City and Bee Campus USA National Coordinator Laura Rost. This is an opportunity to share your successes, ask for advice, and connect with your fellow affiliate cities and campuses.
Feel free to join us if you are a Bee City or Bee Campus affiliate in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. More regional meetings to come!
This free Bee City USA webinar is hosted by Xerces Society and will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel on the Bee City USA playlist. Auto-generated Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
Stefanie Steele
Pollinator Conservation Specialist for Urban and Small Farms in Underserved Communities and NRCS Partner Biologist
The Xerces Society

Stefanie is the Pollinator Conservation Specialist for Urban and Small Farms in Underserved Communities and a NRCS Partner Biologist in the Upper Midwest – Detroit, Michigan area. Through this work, she provides technical assistance, planning, and education on incorporating pollinator and other beneficial invertebrate habitat in small urban agricultural areas and community gardens in historically excluded communities. Her work supports projects including the Xerces Habitat Kit Program, People’s Garden Initiative, and NRCS Conservation Programs through the USDA Farm Bill.
Stefanie received a master’s degree in biology from Portland State University where she studied the nesting habits of cavity nesting bees and wasps in the Portland, OR area and completed a multi-year study surveying the solitary bees in Portland’s urban core and their floral use. Since graduating, she has worked on numerous research projects studying diverse bee communities, and she has a deep knowledge of the taxonomy and ecology of native bees. While in Portland, OR, Stefanie worked with several urban gardens, orchards, farms, and restoration areas to help incorporate pollinator habitat in these spaces. Originally from Cincinnati, OH, Stefanie has a strong knowledge of the Upper Midwest local plant communities and is excited to be back working with urban communities in the Midwest.
Micah Kloppenburg
Wisconsin Pollinator Conservation Specialist
The Xerces Society

As the Wisconsin Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Micah provides technical assistance to agricultural producers, land stewards, and community groups interested in creating and protecting pollinator habitat. Previously, Micah worked as an ecologist for a WI non-profit where he supported land owners in achieving their habitat protection and restoration goals; and, for a county parks department where he developed and led creative conservation activities and programming for youth and community groups. Micah holds a Master’s degree in restoration ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied plant community change in remnant hillside prairies in the Driftless region. He enjoys canoeing, dabbling in jewelry metal art, and growing as many onions and garlic as he and his family can fit in their small garden.

National Moth Week
2023-07-22 - 2023-07-30
Moths are important pollinators, too! Visit nationalmothweek.org to find events and activities near you.

Removing Barriers to Successful Restoration; The Xerces Society's Habitat Kit program
2023-07-27 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This event will be recorded and posted to: The Xerces YouTube Channel

One of the best ways to help declining pollinators and other wildlife is to restore safe habitat for them. Although the concept of restoring habitat may not be complicated, there are plenty of barriers to successful, high-quality pollinator habitat restoration. One of the ways Xerces has tried to reduce these barriers is through our Habitat Kit program, which provides both plant materials and technical assistance to folks with the interest, experience, and land to make it happen. Through this program, we offer carefully selected, native and regionally appropriate plant material directly to our partners for shovel-ready projects. Please join us for this informative webinar to learn more about the program and how you can get involved.
This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces Youtube Channel. Closed Captioning will be available during the webinar.

Jessa Kay Cruz – Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, California and the Intermountain West – The Xerces Society
Jessa is the Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist for The Xerces Society in California, and a partner biologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. She manages and coordinates many aspects of the pollinator program in California and throughout the western United States. Since joining Xerces in 2008, she has worked in agricultural and natural lands throughout the western U.S. to create habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects, and to promote practices that support them. She provides education and technical support to a range of individuals and agencies, including farmers and ranchers, agricultural professionals, and land managers. Jessa holds a master’s of science in environmental entomology and integrated pest management from California State University, Chico, and a bachelor’s degree in sustainable farming from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Kaitlin Haase – Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist – The Xerces Society
As the Southwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Kaitlin works to create climate-resilient, connected pollinator habitat in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. She collaborates with and educates public and private urban land managers in New Mexico and the desert Southwest on pollinator-friendly practices for landscaping, gardening, and open space restoration. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Northern Arizona University, where she studied impacts of drying on aquatic invertebrate diversity in natural and human-made ponds. Before graduate school, she worked as an ecological science technician in a variety of systems across the US, including predator-prey ecology in Michigan, riparian restoration in Virginia, and rare species monitoring in Massachusetts.
July 27
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PT
Webinar

International Monarch Monitoring Blitz
2023-07-28 - 2023-08-06 | North America
Save the date for this year’s Monarch Monitoring Blitz from 28 July to 6 August 2023!
The International Monarch Monitoring Blitz invites community scientists from across North America to come together with the shared goal of helping to protect and conserve the beloved and emblematic monarch butterfly. Data collected by volunteers each year support trinational efforts to better understand the monarch butterfly’s breeding productivity, range, and timing in North America.
Consider promoting the effort within your networks. This is an opportunity to encourage, host or assist with monarch-related outreach events that involve submitting photo observations of monarchs (all life stages) and milkweed. There are promotional materials available in three languages – English, Spanish and French.
Promotional graphics and text (English, Spanish and French language versions)
For additional information view the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) newsletter:

English
Spanish
French

Knowledge is Pollinator Power: A webinar of experts to prep for the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census in NC
2023-08-10 13:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Feel free to share within your networks! This is free and open to the public!
Sign up here

Join the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census team to learn about the Census, how to participate in the Census, how to bring the Census to your community or organizations, and ask questions with the experts. If you want to help scientists understand what kind of insects are in your backyard, this is the project for you!

When: Thursday, August 10, 2023
Time: 1-3 p.m.
Where: Zoom (link to be sent out day before!)
Who: ANYONE in North Carolina! Citizens, Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, schools, teachers, students, parents, homeschool groups, businesses, non-profits, government organizations, etc.
Speakers include: Dr. Danesha Seth-Carley, Dr. Hannah Levenson, and Dr. Matt Bertone
Topics include: Pollinator plants, current pollinator research projects and insect identification
Contact: Amanda Wilkins, amwilkin@ncsu.edu
Date of the Census for 2023: Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 19
Learn more about the Census
