March 2025 | View as Webpage

Happy Spring Equinox!

Webinar Next Tuesday! Still Growing: Pollinator Habitat Maintenance Tips

Earth Week Promo Kit Now Available

Earth Week fast approaching: April 20-26. We've posted new Earth Week social media content, printable outreach materials, and videos you can screen at your Bee City or Bee Campus events. Enjoy! View your free Earth Week Promo Kit

[Community Science] Share Your Community's Bumble Bee Sightings with Bumble Bee Watch

Are you starting to notice newly awakened big bumble bee queens buzzing around? Did you know you can help with international research by documenting bumble bee sightings?

Bumble Bee Watch (BBW) is a collaborative community science project that tracks and conserves North America’s bumble bees. You can contribute sightings to BBW via the website or via the app. Whether you are traveling around the country or just walking around your block, you can help! It's easy to participate:

• Create a free account.
• [Optional] Download the app (available for IOS (Apple) devices)
• Upload photos of bumble bees to start a virtual bumble bee collection (a few different angles helps)
• ID the bumble bees in your photos
• Have your identifications verified by experts

Benefits:

• Help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees (When are they emerging? What is their distribution?)
• Help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees
• Learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts
• Connect with other community scientists

Feel free to promote Bumble Bee Watch at your next event. It can be a great activity for families.

Learn more about Bumble Bee Watch

Welcome, New Bee City and Bee Campus Affiliates

Thank you for joining us!

• Iowa Western Community College, IA
• Moline, IL
• Purdue University-Lafayette, IN
• Savannah, GA
• University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, WI

Did you Turn in Your Renewal Report & Fee?

Have you turned in your annual report? If you need any extension please email Laura and Carly at beecityusa@xerces.org.

• Login here
• For renewal guidance, check out our blog post: How To Prepare Your Bee City Or Bee Campus Report or watch our Renewal Report Walk-Through webinar.
• Need help logging in? Email Laura and Carly at beecityusa@xerces.org.

Please note, if your city/campus was first certified in 2024, you do not need to renew this year. Your first annual report and fee will be due February 28, 2026.

If you have finished your report, thank you! We are reviewing reports now and will email you as they are approved over the next few months.

We are so grateful to have such a strong, enthusiastic conservation community. Thank you for your work!

More Xerces Habitat Kit Proposal Windows Are Open

More habitat kit proposal windows have opened. If you qualify, we highly encourage you to apply. Many Bee City and Bee Campus affiliates have received kits in the past. It's a great opportunity to get high-quality, native pollinator plants for your projects. Each region has a different funding source, so the eligibility differs.

California Monarch and Pollinator Kits

Qualifying projects: Working lands, public lands, tribal lands, and private/non-working lands recovering from wildfires 

Qualifying locations: Distinct regions in California (Central Coast, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Foothills, and Southern California)

Special kit features: Supports monarch butterflies and other pollinators, climate-smart selections

Project proposals: February 10 - April 4, 2025

Kit pickup: October; December (Southern California)

SW Oregon Pollinator Kits

Qualifying projects: Working lands, public lands, tribal lands, community spaces. Not for residential/private homes.

Qualifying locations: Klamath-Siskiyou Region of SW Oregon

Special kit features: Supports monarch butterflies and other native pollinators, climate-smart selections

Project proposals: March - April 1, 2025

Kit pickup: October

Washington Bumble Bee Habitat Kits

Qualifying projects: Public lands, tribal lands, community spaces, yards/home gardens of residential areas, working lands 

Qualifying locations: Eastern Cascades foothills in Washington

Special kit features: Supports at-risk bumble bees and other native pollinators

Project proposals: March - April 10, 2025

Kit pickup: October

Wisconsin Pollinator Habitat Kits

Qualifying projects: Working lands or community food initiatives  

Qualifying locations: Wisconsin

Special kit features: Supports monarch butterflies, native pollinators, and beneficial insects

Project proposals: Accepting submissions to receive plants in 2026, apply anytime.

Kit pickup: Variable dates

March 25 @ 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

Bee City Webinar - Still Growing: Pollinator Habitat Maintenance Tips

April 1

SW Oregon Habitat Kits: Proposal window closes

April 4

California Monarch and Pollinator Kits: Proposal window closes

April 10

Washington Bumble Bee Habitat Kits: Proposal window closes

April 17 @ 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

The Truth About Mosquito Sprays: Investigating their Impact on Pollinators

April 20 - 26

Earth Week

May 1 - 31

No Mow May

May 10

World Migratory Bird Day

May 20

World Bee Day

May 22 @ 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

Insect Restoration and Conservation: Creating Usable Habitats in Human-Dominated Landscapes

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

Application and renewal fee address:

The Xerces Society

??‹PO Box 84274

Seattle, WA 98124-5574

Contact:

beecityusa@xerces.org

503.212.0894

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.

Become a member

Fundraise

Learn about Xerces