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

The Paradox of Fire: A Threat to Pollinators yet a Key Process They Need
2023-08-17 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This event will be recorded and posted to: The Xerces Youtube Channel

Since first using a drip torch to start a prescribed burn back in 1991, Dr. Ray Moranz has been fascinated with prescribed fire and its effects on plants and wildlife. Ray will summarize some of the most important evidence of the negative effects of fire on pollinators, but follow that with examples of the benefits of fire. He will present examples from throughout the lower 48 U.S. states, with a slight bias toward his region, the Central Grasslands. He will recommend best management practices for fire and suggest sources of technical and financial assistance for prescribed burning.
Click here to learn more and register today! This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces Youtube Channel. Closed Captions will be available during the webinar.

Ray Moranz – Grazing Lands Pollinator Ecologist, Partner Biologist for the NRCS Central National Technology Support Center – The Xerces Society
Ray works to conserve pollinators on rangelands in the central U.S., and he also serves as a Partner Biologist to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Central National Technology Support Center in Fort Worth, TX. He is based at the NRCS Field Office in Stillwater, Oklahoma. One focus of his work is to assist in the planning and implementation of monarch butterfly conservation efforts in the south central U.S.. Ray began studying the effects of fire and grazing on prairie plant and butterfly communities in 2004, and earned his Ph.D. in natural resource ecology and management from Oklahoma State University in 2010. Prior to joining the Xerces Society, he worked for The Nature Conservancy in Florida, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California, Iowa State University, and Oklahoma State University.

Great Southeast Pollinator Census
2023-08-18 - 2023-08-19
The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is back for another year, and now open to residents of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Pickin, Pedalin & Pollinatin
2023-08-18 - 2023-08-20 | Snowshoe Mountain Resort, WV, Snowshoe Mountain, WV, United States
We’re mixing some of our favorite things together for an unforgettable weekend on the mountain – bluegrass music, brews, and bike races. Enjoy live music from Hackensaw Boys, Independent State, and Bourbon Revival; local craft beers; and a bike race on the blue trails of Western Territory. We’re also throwing in a hint of pollinating to highlight our Bee City designation at Snowshoe. Beekeepers and honey vendors from near and far will be on the mountain to explain their professions and how important it is to keep our pollinators, well pollinating!

Pinellas County Bee City USA Bio Blitz
2023-09-02 08:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Eagle Lake Park, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, 33771, United States
Pinellas County has recently been recognized as a Bee City (County) by the non-profit Xerces Society for the Conservation of Invertebrates.
Part of our commitment to foster a community that supports insect conservation is to engage citizens in the collection of data on the health of our insect populations.
You are invited to join others in the community for a fun, citizen-science effort to record as many species of plants and insects at Eagle Lake Park on September 2, 2023 from 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
This “Bio-Blitz” will give us an idea of the density and diversity of pollinators and the plants they depend on in one park in our county.
Educators from the Brooker Creek and Weedon Island Environmental Education Centers will be on hand to get you started at the BioBlitz.
You can sign-up here to keep updated by email of any useful information before the event. Otherwise, all are welcome to join us to start the Blitz at Shelter 3, Eagle Lake Park, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771.
For the rest of September, you can do your own bio-blitz in any Pinellas County Park by following some simple rules.

Native Bee Walk at Weedon Island Preserve, FL
2023-09-16 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
Weedon Island Preserve is a home for many species of Pinellas County’s native bees. The native bees on Weedon Island are found in a variety of sizes from tiny ones that are the size of a grain of rice all the way to huge bumble bees and carpenter bees. Join a staff naturalist for a walk around the grounds to look for these fascinating insects that contribute to our ecosystem in many important ways.
This walk is recommended for adults and youth ages 8 and up. All youth must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the program.
Spots are limited for this program so registration is required.

Bee City & Bee Campus USA Virtual Affiliate Meetup: Northeast & Mid-Atlantic Region
2023-09-20 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Join Kelly Gill, Xerces Society’s Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region for a short presentation on Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region pollinator conservation activities, followed by an extended Q&A and group discussion with Kelly 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 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, or the District of Columbia. 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.
Kelly Gill
Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region
As a Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Specialist and a Partner Biologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kelly provides technical assistance on pollinator conservation in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region. This work includes planning, designing, installing, and managing habitat for pollinators. Kelly also works with staff and research partners to develop technical guidelines and provide training on pollinator conservation practices. Kelly completed her master’s Degree in entomology at Iowa State University where she conducted research on the development of best practices for conserving native bees and beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes.

Header Photo Credit: Dickinson College Bee Campus USA Committee

Fall Gardening for Pollinators: Creating a Resilient Garden for All Seasons
2023-09-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This event will be recorded and posted to: The Xerces Youtube Channel.

Join Emily May, Pollinator Conservation Specialist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, to talk about supporting pollinators and other wildlife in our yards and gardens through the changing seasons. Where do beneficial insects spend the winter? What does gardening for wildlife look like in the fall and winter? We’ll talk about building resilience into our yards and gardens and rethinking our fall/winter garden aesthetic to better understand and support the lives around us.
This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces Youtube Channel. Closed captions will be available during the 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.

Pinellas County Fall Wildflower & Pollinator Festival
2023-10-07 09:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Brooker Creek Preserve, 3940 Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs, FL, 34688, United States
The Fall Wildflower and Pollinator Festival returns this year with a day of fun for the whole family! On Saturday October 7 from 9:00 to 4:00 you can celebrate Florida Wildflowers and the Pollinators that support us all. A native plant sale will feature vendors from our area with plants that are beautiful, pollinator-friendly and best suited for our climate. Kid’s crafts will focus on make-and-take projects to support pollinators in our own yards and neighborhoods. There will be a Pollinator Encounter tent to experience these helpful, harmless insects close-up, thanks to our friends at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. Various organizations will be available to answer questions about growing wildflowers, attracting pollinators, and being a good friend to Nature in Pinellas County! Refreshments, music and more await you at this free event. Pinellas County Wildflower and Pollinator Festival. Saturday, October 7, 2023. 9:00 – 4:00. Brooker Creek Preserve, 3940 Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs, FL 34688.

In the Life of Bees: Nesting in Darkness
2023-10-19 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This event will be recorded and posted to: The Xerces Youtube Channel

When you think of bees, you probably imagine the things they do on sunny days, like flying around and pollinating flowers. But this is only half of the story, as most of the 20,000 species of bees found around the world nest belowground, and spend the majority of their lives in darkness. What are they doing underground? How do they navigate their burrows and communicate with other bees? What happens when it rains? There are many interesting questions surrounding this lifestyle, and also plenty of uncertainties remaining to be resolved about subterranean living. In this webinar, we will learn about the diversity of ways that bees live and reproduce belowground, and we’ll ponder some of those unsolved mysteries. We’ll also talk about how the belowground lifestyle affects threats to bees, such as exposure to pesticides and pathogens. This webinar will cover some bees you may be familiar with, such as bumble bees, but we’ll be focusing our time on soil-nesters who we generally know less about, including the many solitary bees that do not live in colonies.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Leif Richardson – Conservation Biologist & California Bumble Bee Atlas – 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.

28th Annual Symbolic Monarch Migration to Mexico with Bee City USA - Hendersonville
2023-10-20 | Hendersonville, NC, 95 Upper Red Oak Trail, Hendersonville, NC, 28792, United States
From the Hendersonville area, the monarch migration is an epic journey to Mexico covering at least 2,000 miles. Like clockwork, the first migrating monarchs typically reach their over-wintering habitats high in the mountains of central Mexico by the first of November. To celebrate this amazing feat, more than 10,000 children from across the United States and Canada will participate in the 28th annual Symbolic Monarch Migration by creating paper butterflies to send to Mexico for the winter. Local classrooms, youth organizations, and individual students are invited to join them.
These symbolic butterflies will correspond with the living monarchs’ actual journey south … and as the real-life monarchs arrive in Mexico for the winter, the symbolic butterflies will be delivered to schools in the area of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Sometime in spring after the living monarchs’ departure from Mexico, groups of paper butterflies will also return north carrying special messages from the students in Mexico. United by the monarch butterfly, children across North America learn authentic lessons of conservation, cooperation, and ambassadorship.
As funding allows, any group (up to 30 participants) of youth located within the City of Hendersonville and/or Henderson County may take part in the program at no cost. Individual students who are not part of a registered classroom or group may also participate at no charge by creating a paper butterfly and mailing or delivering it to Bullington Gardens by Friday, October 20, 2023 (95 Upper Red Oak Trail, Hendersonville 28792).

Bee City & Bee Campus USA Virtual Affiliate Meetup: Southeast Region
2023-10-25 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Join Laurie Hamon, Xerces Society’s Endangered Species Conservation Biologist for a short presentation on the Southeastern Bee Atlas, followed by an extended Q&A and group discussion with Laurie 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 Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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.

Laurie Hamon
Endangered Species Conservation Biologist
The Xerces Society
Laurie is the project manager for the Southeast Bumble Bee Atlas, a community science project to track and conserve bumble bees in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. She earned her PhD at North Carolina State University, where she conducted her thesis on the pollination ecology of Venus flytraps. She has conducted survey work for multiple rare insect species and investigated insect communities in urban pollinator gardens. Laurie has previous experience coordinating a community science project to monitor butterflies at a biological reserve in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When the work day ends, Laurie enjoys making art and spending time outdoors.
Header Photo Credit: Bee Campus East Carolina University, NC

ERC Speaker Series: Impactful Pollinator Conservation Initiative at University of Illinois Chicago
2023-11-14 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
THE ENERGY RESOURCES CENTER PRESENTS
ERC Speaker Series: Impactful Pollinator Conservation Initiative at University of Illinois Chicago
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 – 11:00 AM Central
As the first campus in Illinois to be certified as a Bee Campus USA, the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is dedicated to enhancing and expanding pollinator habitat on campus. UIC’s impact expands far beyond the campus, however. The Energy Resources Center (ERC) at UIC supports pollinators nationwide by facilitating the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group, a cross-sector collaboration to support habitat conservation on working lands. Learn more about the diverse ways that different groups across UIC are working to protect pollinators both now and in the future through this co-hosted webinar by the ERC and the Office of Planning, Sustainability, and Project Management at UIC.
Register here
