Bloomfield Citizens Council

Bee City News USA May 2026

Posted in: Madison Park
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May 2026 | View as Webpage

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Pollinator Week Promo Kit

Pollinator Week 2026 is June 22-28 and it can be a great time to kick off summer activities. Whether you are tabling at the farmers market or holding a movie night, we’ve got the resources to help you out.

 

Our theme this year is “Bring Back the Pollinators,” which is a Xerces Society campaign for individuals to take action to protect pollinators. The four principles of Bring Back the Pollinators are the foundation for Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA commitments, so this campaign is the perfect complement for your work to promote pollinator conservation. Use it as a way to engage more people to contribute to your community-level efforts!

 

Click here for printable outreach materials, talking points, social media content, and event ideas.

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Annual Renewal Reports Due Next Week

It's time to renew! Each year, Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates share a renewal report and pay a renewal fee. Our deadline is May 31, 2026.

 

Need an extension? Need help logging in? Email beecityusa@xerces.org.

 

Please note: we have a new check payment address as of 3/2/2026:

 

Xerces Society 

PO Box 739563

Dallas, TX 75373-9563

 

Who is due to report and pay?

  • If your community was FIRST certified in 2024 or earlier, you are due to report and pay this year.
  • If your community was FIRST certified in 2025, you do not need to report or pay until 2027.
  • If your community was FIRST certified in 2026, you do not need to report or pay until 2028.
  • If your community was one of the first 61 Bee Cities and Bee Campuses, just fill out the renewal report. You are an "early adopter" and do not need to pay the fee.

 

More info: How To Prepare Your Bee City Or Bee Campus Report

 

Thank you to everyone who has already finished their reports and paid. We'll be in touch when your report is approved.

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NEW Toolkit! Bee-Friendly Lawns

As we mentioned recently, we have re-worked our No Mow May/Low Mow Spring content to re-frame the conversation towards more effective pollinator conservation actions.

 

We currently have three pages, with more to come:

  1. About Bee-Friendly Lawns & Gardens (with a Low Mow Zone promo kit)
  2. Bee-Friendly Lawns & Gardens: Best Practices & Tips
  3. Bee-Friendly Lawns: FAQs
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Regional Meeting Recordings

Thank you to everyone who joined us and presented at our regional meetings this spring. We heard some great approaches to fundraising, training staff and volunteers to ID weeds, bioblitzes, and more. If you missed your regional meeting, below are the recordings and slides. We're still working on getting the resources affiliates offered to share, so stay tuned for more in the June eNewsletter.

 

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Welcome New Affiliates!

  • College of Saint Mary, NE
  • Frederick, MD
  • Frederick County, MD
  • Lee, MA

 

If you know of a community that might be interested in becoming a Bee City or Bee Campus, we'd love to connect with them. We're particularly interested in those in Alaska or Hawaii, two states where we have no affiliates. Let us know at beecityusa@xerces.org.

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No Time to Despair: How You Can Mobilize to Protect Pollinators from Pesticides as a Gardener, Neighbor, and Citizen

Bee City USA – Asheville, NC is hosting a hybrid in-person and online presentation with Sharon Selvaggio from the Xerces Society. Bee Cities and Bee Campuses are welcome to join the webinar or, if you are nearby, attend in-person as long as seats are available.

 

Event Description

Tiny, inconspicuous, and underappreciated species hold our world together. Sharon Selvaggio with the Xerces Society will discuss why pesticides in homes, gardens, agriculture, and natural areas are a leading threat to bees, butterflies, and other insects. But there is much to be hopeful about! She’ll also share inspiring examples and practical resources for those ready to take action in their gardens, neighborhoods, towns, campuses, and states.

 

No Time to Despair: How You Can Mobilize to Protect Pollinators from Pesticides as a Gardener, Neighbor, and Citizen

June 2

3 – 4:30 PM PT / 4 – 5:30 PM MT / 5 – 6:30 PM CT / 6 – 7:30 PM ET

Free

 

Webinar registration

 

In-person event registration

Asheville Botanical Garden

151 WT Weaver Blvd

Asheville, NC, 28804

 

If you live in the Asheville, NC area, we suggest registering for both the in-person and webinar options since in-person capacity is only 40 people. Everyone who registers for the webinar will receive a recording afterwards.

 

Pollination Celebration! is presented by Bee City USA – Asheville, NC in partnership with the City of Asheville. This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces Society YouTube channel on the Bee City USA Playlist and emailed to those who register. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

 

About Sharon Selvaggio:

Sharon Selvaggio is a Pesticide Reduction Program specialist with the Xerces Society. She leads Xerces’ work to advance pollinator-safe nursery plant production, as well as Xerces’ efforts to reduce pesticide impacts within natural lands. Previously, Sharon worked for 27 years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service as a wildlife biologist, conservation planner, and national wildlife refuge manager. Sharon earned her M.S. in Energy and Resources at University of California-Berkeley.

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Policy Corner: Colorado Passes Pollinator Habitat Bill HB26-1132

Back in 2024, the State of Colorado in partnership with Colorado State University Extension, Xerces Society, and University of Colorado Museum of Natural History published the Colorado Native Pollinating Insect Health Study. Based on the recommendation from the study, Colorado has now passed Practices to Support Pollinators (HB26-1132)!

 

Thank you Colorado Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates who helped promote this bill and a special thanks to People and Pollinators for all of their fantastic advocacy.

 

Beyond this bill, there have been several other recommendations from the report that the state of Colorado has moved forward with to protect pollinators: 

 

  • 2024: Invertebrates & Rare Plants Bill (HB24-117) recognizes invertebrates as wildlife in Colorado and mandates their inclusion of species to be studied and protected
  • 2025: Creation of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Invertebrate and Rare Plant Program, including 6 new CPW positions
  • 2025: Invertebrates and Rare Plants included and prioritized in Colorado's new State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP)

 

Great work Colorado! Hopefully some of you in other states can use this approach as a model for your own state's pollinator conservation efforts.

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Updated: Free Printable Low Mow Zone Yard Sign

We got some helpful feedback that the Spanish translation of our new "Low Mow Zone" lawn sign was a bit too regionally specific in the terminology, so now we have two versions you can choose from:

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Low Mow Zone / Zona de Poca Poda“ (this Spanish translation may be most widely understood)

Low Mow Zone / Zona de Cortar Menos” (this Spanish translation may be preferred for California)

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Upcoming Events

May 21 @ 10 AM / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

How to Help Your Community Become a Bee City or Bee Campus

May 31

Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA Renewal Reports and Fees Due

June 1-30

Proposal Window Open: Southern California Residential Habitat Kits

June 2 @ 3 PM PT / 4 PM MT / 5 PM CT / 6 PM ET

No Time to Despair: How You Can Mobilize to Protect Pollinators from Pesticides as a Gardener, Neighbor, and Citizen (Hosted by Bee City USA - Asheville, NC)

June 9 @ 7 PM

The Little Things the Run the World documentary screening, free, Charlotte, NC (hosted by Charlotte Wildlife Stewards)

June 13 @ 1 PM

The Little Things the Run the World documentary screening, free, Vancouver, WA (hosted by City of Vancouver - Naturespaces)

June 16 @ 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

Xerces Webinar: Ask the Experts! How Can You Protect Pollinators From Pesticides?

June 22-28

Pollinator Week

June 23 @ 1 PM

The Little Things the Run the World documentary screening, free, Missoula, MT (hosted by Missoula County Dept of Ecology)

June 30

Proposal Window Closes: New Mexico Pollinator Kits

July 19-25

National Moth Week

 

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Have an event, funding opportunity, or volunteer opportunity you would like us to promote? Emailbeecityusa@xerces.org. If you have a Bee City/Campus login: you can add events here.

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NEW Application and renewal fee address:

The Xerces Society

PO Box 739563

Dallas, TX 75373-9563

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Bumble bee illustration
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Contact:

beecityusa@xerces.org

503.212.0894

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Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society.

 

The Xerces Society is a donor-supported nonprofit organization that protects our world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats.

 

Your tax-deductible donation will help grow and sustain that essential work.

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Become a member

Fundraise

Learn about Xerces

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Image credits from top:

 

Bee-Friendly Lawns: Alina Harris

Regional Meetings: Bee Campus USA - Virginia Tech

Sharon's Asheville presentation: Sharon Selvaggio

Colorado Policy Corner: Artwork by Faith Williams Dyrsten.

 

© The Xerces Society

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