Madison Park

February 2024

Bee City USA Event: Plants You Can Brag About

You're invited

Webinar:

Corrected date: February 22, 2024

10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

Register for free

Bee City and Bee Campus affiliates collectively form one of the country’s strongest examples of how pollinator considerations can be integrated into park management and community outreach. In this webinar, Xerces pesticide program staff member Sharon Selvaggio will present a new option to help affiliates achieve the goal of ensuring that the plants they buy are pollinator-safe – a template set of contract grow specifications designed by Xerces.

We invite you to come to this webinar to learn about this model and how you might adopt or adapt it for purchases by your city or campus This webinar will be especially meaningful for affiliate “clusters” concentrated in some regions.

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.

Meet the People’s Garden Initiative

The People’s Garden Initiative (PGI) has partnered with the Xerces Society to expand pollinator and beneficial insect outreach and education to community gardens nationwide! Managed by the USDA, the PGI was developed to celebrate resilient communities and innovative food systems across the U.S. Originally launched in 2009, the first flagship people’s garden was planted on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and now includes flagship gardens in 17 designated urban city hubs and nearly 1,600 registered gardens in communities across the U.S. 

The PGI operates under these three core criteria:

1. Join the PGI community and get involved with others in the movement
2. Grow sustainable farms, gardens, and habitat to benefit both people and wildlife
3. Teach about growing local, sustainable, resilient, culturally significant food systems

People’s Garden Initiative is excited to cross pollinate with Bee City and Bee Campus USA! Both programs are working to bring nature and, in particular pollinators, into towns and cities. Many of PGI’s registered sites and BCU affiliates’ locations overlap, which provides opportunities for these groups to collaborate and further bring awareness on conservation education and opportunities in urban areas. BCU affiliates, check out some of these helpful and inspiring PGI resources...Read more

Habitat Kits for Bee Cities and Bee Campuses

As you likely know, one of the best ways to help declining pollinators and other wildlife is to restore safe habitat for them. Through the Xerces Society’s habitat kit program, we provide plants and resources to folks with the interest, experience, and land to make it happen. We offer carefully selected, native and regionally appropriate plants directly to our partners for shovel-ready projects. We are currently offering habitat kits in several regions of the United States to qualifying partners. Read more

Welcome, New Bee City and Bee Campus Affiliates!

• Franklin Park, IL
• University of Maine, ME
• West Virginia University, WV

Check out our Bee City USA YouTube Playlist with webinars on bees, pesticide reduction, and more.

Annual Renewal Reports Due February 29

A reminder for our Bee City or Bee Campus committee members: your annual renewal report is due this month. We look forward to reading and sharing your reports!

Not sure where to start? We put together a handy guide to walk you through the renewal process.

If your city or campus was first certified in 2022 or earlier: Your renewal report and annual fee are due February, 29 2024. If you are one of our first 60 affiliates, you are an early adopter and do not need to pay the renewal fee.

If your city or campus was first certified in 2023: No need to report his year -- your first renewal report and annual fee are due in February 28, 2025.

Fundraising Corner: Keep America Beautiful's Martin Luther King Jr. Community Improvement Grants

Occasionally, our Bee Cities ask us about funding opportunities for their pollinator conservation projects, and we're listening! Here's a grant from our friends at Keep America Beautiful (KAB):

Keep America Beautiful provides MLK Community Improvement Grants to support communities in revitalizing, beautifying and transforming areas in and around Martin Luther King Jr. corridors and neighborhoods. With over 950 MLK corridors across the United States transecting a variety of different neighborhood types and commercial uses, this grant helps business, residents and community groups address their challenges and meet their needs. Past MLK projects have included murals and public art installations, the creation of community gardens and green spaces, tree plantings and cleanup efforts.

Opportunity at a Glance

Grant is open to KAB Affiliates, nonprofits, local governments and other community organizations. Non-KAB Affiliates are strongly encouraged to partner with a KAB Affiliate in their community. KAB affiliates will receive priority review and consideration.

Project locations must be along or near MLK corridors.

Projects must address a need identified by the community and foster a sense of inclusion and self-determination.

Grants awarded will range between $5,000 and $20,000.

Application period: January 15, 2024 – March 8, 2024

Grants announced and executed: April 2024

Implementation period: April 2024 – December 2024

Learn more

Upcoming Events

February 22 @ 10 am PT / 11 am MT / 12 pm CT / 1 pm ET

Plants You Can Brag About: Working with nurseries to assure pollinator-safe plants

February 27-29 @ 10 am - 3 pm CT

Online: Best Practices for Pollinators Summit $60 General admission (Not hosted by Xerces, but our staff will be presenting)

February 29

Bee City and Bee Campus annual renewal reports and fees due

March 16 @ 10a am-12 pm ET

In-person: Sustainable Norcross GA Workshop #2: What To Plant?

March 28 @ 10 am - 12pm PT

In The Life Of The Bumble Bee Queen (And The Cuckoo Too!)

In case you missed it: Watch our Jan 2024 webinar, Pesticides, Policy, and You

Contact: BeeCityUSA@xerces.org

Donation Mailing Address:

The Xerces Society

PO Box 97387

Washington DC, 20090-7387