Bee Banquet in the Sky: Trees and Shrubs for Urban Pollinator Conservation

The AmericanHort Foundation’s Horticultural Research Institute is hosting a webinar on trees and shrubs favorable for urban pollinator conservation. The webinar is scheduled for October 7.

Daniel Potter, Professor Emeritus, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, shares why bees are critical for biodiversity and food security, why populations are declining, and how gardeners can help by incorporating woody landscape plants to provide nectar, pollen, and nesting sites for bees.

Urban landscapes can be important refuges for native bees and other pollinators. This talk covers why bees are critical for biodiversity and food security, why bee populations are declining, and how the gardening public can help by incorporating woody landscape plants to provide nectar, pollen, nesting sites and materials, and other resources.

Following a brief overview of pollination ecology, we’ll “meet the bees”, and then discuss recent HRI-funded research that identified top native and non-native “bee magnets” amongst woody ornamental plants. The talk also explains why artificial bee “hotels” can become death traps and suggests better ways to create bee nesting sites through ordinary gardening practices.

Attendees will receive PDF handouts and other information helpful for teaching others about the best trees and shrubs for bee conservation

“Bee” a Part of the webinar here.