Your Sustainable Backyard: Pollinator Gardening

Three UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty will speak at a workshop hosted by the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) on "Your Sustainable Backyard: Pollinator Gardening" on Saturday, April 28 in Room 101 of Giedt Hall, UC Davis.

The event, to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be an opportunity for attendees "to learn about bees what they do, and how gardeners can support healthy populations through simple gardening practices," said coordinator Melissa "Missy" Gable, horticulturist and program director of CCUH. "This workshop is intended for anyone with a love of gardening."

"We have entomologists, horticulturists and design experts presenting at Pollinator Gardening," Gable said. "This workshop is designed both to inspire gardeners and equip them with all the necessary tools to provision pollinating insects in their own landscape.  Without the pollination services of European honey bees and native bees, what fruits and vegetables would be accessible to us?  Come learn what you can do your part to support healthy bee communities."  

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis, and Dave Fujino, executive director of CCHU, will welcome the crowd from 8:45 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, will speak on "Bees 101: Species Diversity and Behavior" from 9 to 4:45 a.m., followed by pollination ecologist Neal Williams, assistant professor of entomology at UC Davis, discussing on "Importance of Pollinators and Conservation."

Ellen Zagory, director of horticulture at the UC Davis Arboretum will cover "Bee Plants" from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The last workshop speaker, Vicki Wojcik, associate program manager of Pollinator Partnership will speak on "Pollinator Gardening: Design and Maintenance" from12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

Following the formal presentations, participants are invited to (1) tour the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, and (2) visit the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery, where they can see the pollinator demonstration beds and have an opportunity to buy plants at a specially held sale inside the nursery. Members of the Friends of the Arboretum will receive a 10 percent discount.

Both the haven and the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery will be open from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Thorp and Gable will be at the haven to answer questions during the self-guided tours, and horticulturist Ellen Zagory will be on hand in the teaching nursery's demonstration gardens to field questions.

Also that day, plans call for a Bohart Museum of Entomology display and a display of solitary bee nesting sites from Wild Campus.

The registration fee of $45 registration includes parking, morning coffee/tea, scones and a gourmet boxed lunch. See registration site.

Directions to Giedt Hall:
To UC Davis Parking Lot 44 (just south of Giedt Hall)
• From Interstate 80 take the UC Davis exit and turn toward campus onto Old Davis Road (turn right from 80W and left from 80E). Turn left onto California Avenue (just past the Visitor Information Booth). Turn left onto La Rue Drive. Turn right onto Bioletti Way. Park in Lot 44 on the right and walk north on Bioletti Way to Giedt Hall (on right).Giedt is located north of Kemper Hall in the UC Davis Engineering/Physical Sciences District.

Directions to Häagen-Dazs Haven Garden and the Arboretum Teaching Nursery
• From Lot 44 to Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven: From Parking Lot 44 turn left onto Bioletti Way. Turn right onto La Rue Drive. Turn left onto Hutchison Drive and follow the road through two traffic circles, toward the campus airport. Turn left onto Hopkins Road and park in the first parking lot on the right. Walking, cross Hopkins Road and continue down Bee Biology Road to the garden.
• From Lot 44 To the Arboretum Teaching Nursery From Parking Lot 44 turn left onto Bioletti Way. Turn right onto La Rue Drive. Turn left on Garrod Drive. As the road curves right, you will see the nursery on your left. At the stop sign, continue straight to park in the visitor parking lots across the street from the nursery.
• From The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Garden to The Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Navigate back down Hopkins Road to the stop sign and turn right onto Hutchison Drive. Follow Hutchison through two traffic circles. Turn right onto La Rue Road. Turn right onto Garrod Drive. As the road curves right, you will see the nursery on your left. At the stop sign, continue straight to park in the visitor parking lots across the street from the nursery.
*For directions from the Arboretum Teaching Nursery to the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Garden, please reverse.

For more information, contact Gable at mjborel@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-6642.