2021 Pollination Celebration!
June 19th - 27th
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This June marks our 9th annual Pollination Celebration! We'll be offering a lineup of socially distanced, educational, and pollinator-centered events to celebrate our pollen-bearing friends and all that they do for us. This celebration is made possible by Carolina Native Nursery! Why celebrate pollinators? These dedicated creatures aid in the production of nearly 75% of crops, pollinate roughly 90% of flowering plants, and sustain the ecosystems we so greatly depend on. Please join us to learn about pollinators, discover ways each of us can mitigate their decline, and celebrate all they do for us! Keep up with the latest Pollination Celebration news by liking the Asheville GreenWorks Facebook page and the Bee City USA Asheville Facebook page. |
Pollination Celebration is proudly sponsored by:
Carolina Native Nursery is the go-to source for native shrubs and perennials along the east coast. We specialize in growing native azaleas and rhododendron from seed, which allows us to provide plants that are high quality, hard to find, and hardy in your landscape. Adding native plants to a garden is guaranteed to provide food and shelter for a variety of birds, bees, and butterflies. That is why our mission is to save the earth, one plant at a time. We are committed to providing the highest quality native plants while at the same time making a positive impact on the environment. Whether you are a devoted fan of native plants, or you are just looking to add some beauty to the garden, we have you covered!
Pollination Celebration happenings at Carolina Native Nursery:
Pollination Celebration happenings at Carolina Native Nursery:
- All week long: 20% of all sales at Bee Native Plant Shop goes to support Asheville Greenworks
- All week long: self-guided tours available
- OPEN HOUSE on Friday, June 25th: plant specials, guided tours, and more!
Additional Sponsors:
Events:
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Black Jar Honey Tasting Contest
Thursday, June 3, 5:00 - 6:30pm
Description: Join us for our 10th Annual International Honey Tasting event benefiting The Center for Honeybee Research, to be held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Asheville. Come on out and enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer, a silent auction, honey tasting, and live music by Jason DeChristofaro. Limited space--only 30 guests. Buy your tickets today!
Tickets
Thursday, June 3, 5:00 - 6:30pm
Description: Join us for our 10th Annual International Honey Tasting event benefiting The Center for Honeybee Research, to be held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Asheville. Come on out and enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer, a silent auction, honey tasting, and live music by Jason DeChristofaro. Limited space--only 30 guests. Buy your tickets today!
Tickets
Plant a Pollinator Garden: Zoom workshop with Ruth Gonzalez of Reems Creek Nursery
Saturday, June 19 at 10am
Description: Bee sweet to our pollinators, butterflies, and hummingbirds by creating a smorgasbord of beautiful blooming plants and butterfly host plants that provide much-needed habitat for pollinators. With an emphasis on native plants, these lively gardens are full of color, support wildlife, and bring you delight throughout the season.
We’ll discuss garden design principles that enhance the effectiveness of your pollinator habitat, the basic needs of any pollinator garden, and touch on certifying your Pollinator Habitat Certification through Bee City USA - Asheville.
Registration
Saturday, June 19 at 10am
Description: Bee sweet to our pollinators, butterflies, and hummingbirds by creating a smorgasbord of beautiful blooming plants and butterfly host plants that provide much-needed habitat for pollinators. With an emphasis on native plants, these lively gardens are full of color, support wildlife, and bring you delight throughout the season.
We’ll discuss garden design principles that enhance the effectiveness of your pollinator habitat, the basic needs of any pollinator garden, and touch on certifying your Pollinator Habitat Certification through Bee City USA - Asheville.
Registration
Creating a Pollinator-Friendly Garden: Zoom workshop with Lisa Wagner
Monday, June 21, 6:00 - 7:30pm
Description: Native bees, honeybees, flower flies, butterflies, and hummingbirds are among North America’s best-known pollinators. Enjoyable to watch, they’re even more important in their role as pollinators; most flowering plants (90%) depend on pollinators for successful reproduction, including a third of our food plants. Join naturalist, plant ecologist, and garden educator Lisa Wagner to learn how to create a landscape that supports pollinators with plants that provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season. She’ll talk about habitat characteristics that are important for pollinators, provide suggestions for plants to add to your garden, and discuss ways to support pollinators in your own garden and community.
Lisa was the Director of Education at the South Carolina Botanical Garden at Clemson University for over 20 years before she and her husband retired to Asheville, North Carolina. A plant ecologist by background (Ph.D. in Botany, UC Berkeley), she’s interested in native plants, sustainable gardening, vegetable gardening, and public outreach as well as being a keen gardener. She often teaches classes at the NC Arboretum and the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, in addition to doing presentations for groups (now as a volunteer). Her blogs, Natural Gardening (www.naturalgardening.blogspot.com) and Places of the Spirit (www.placesofthespirit.blogspot.com) reflect her observations about the natural world, gardening, and sense of place.
Registration
Monday, June 21, 6:00 - 7:30pm
Description: Native bees, honeybees, flower flies, butterflies, and hummingbirds are among North America’s best-known pollinators. Enjoyable to watch, they’re even more important in their role as pollinators; most flowering plants (90%) depend on pollinators for successful reproduction, including a third of our food plants. Join naturalist, plant ecologist, and garden educator Lisa Wagner to learn how to create a landscape that supports pollinators with plants that provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season. She’ll talk about habitat characteristics that are important for pollinators, provide suggestions for plants to add to your garden, and discuss ways to support pollinators in your own garden and community.
Lisa was the Director of Education at the South Carolina Botanical Garden at Clemson University for over 20 years before she and her husband retired to Asheville, North Carolina. A plant ecologist by background (Ph.D. in Botany, UC Berkeley), she’s interested in native plants, sustainable gardening, vegetable gardening, and public outreach as well as being a keen gardener. She often teaches classes at the NC Arboretum and the Botanical Gardens at Asheville, in addition to doing presentations for groups (now as a volunteer). Her blogs, Natural Gardening (www.naturalgardening.blogspot.com) and Places of the Spirit (www.placesofthespirit.blogspot.com) reflect her observations about the natural world, gardening, and sense of place.
Registration
Effects of Artificial Lighting on Pollinator Networks: Zoom workshop with Bryan Tompkins
Wednesday, June 23, 6:00 - 7:00pm
Description: You might be aware of the plight of the pollinators. And maybe you’ve heard of issues affecting pollinator health such as pesticides, disease, loss of habitat, and climate change. But did you know that artificial outdoor lighting can adversely affect pollinator health? Recent research is uncovering some surprising and alarming effects that artificial outdoor lighting can have on nocturnal and diurnal pollinators and the plants that they need to survive. In the last twenty years, light emissions have increased by 70% in residential areas around the world. From reductions in flower visits by pollinators to reduced seed and fruit set in plants, artificial outdoor lighting is impacting natural ecosystems in ways we never before imagined. Join us as we explore the research and effects of artificial lighting as well as mitigation measures we can all take to minimize the effects of the human desire to overcome the darkness of night.
Bryan has spent the past 15-years as a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Asheville, North Carolina. He currently serves as the USFWS – Southeast Region recovery biologist for the federally endangered rusty-patched bumble bee and is the Energy Project Coordinator for the Asheville Field Office where he reviews energy production and development projects such as hydropower, coal combustion, natural gas, solar arrays, and wind farms. His job responsibilities consist of coordinating with energy companies to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats from impacts associated with energy production projects. His recent efforts have been focused on the conservation of pollinator species with emphasis on the preservation and restoration of native pollinator habitat in North Carolina. He is a founding member of the North Carolina Pollinator Conservation Alliance – a diverse group of dedicated stakeholders from state and federal agencies, educational institutions, businesses, and non-profit organizations that have shared interests in advancing pollinator conservation in North Carolina and an active member of the Asheville Bee City Leadership Committee. In his free time, Bryan enjoys backcountry camping, float fishing the many beautiful rivers of western North Carolina, gardening, and spending time in the outdoors with his family.
Registration
Wednesday, June 23, 6:00 - 7:00pm
Description: You might be aware of the plight of the pollinators. And maybe you’ve heard of issues affecting pollinator health such as pesticides, disease, loss of habitat, and climate change. But did you know that artificial outdoor lighting can adversely affect pollinator health? Recent research is uncovering some surprising and alarming effects that artificial outdoor lighting can have on nocturnal and diurnal pollinators and the plants that they need to survive. In the last twenty years, light emissions have increased by 70% in residential areas around the world. From reductions in flower visits by pollinators to reduced seed and fruit set in plants, artificial outdoor lighting is impacting natural ecosystems in ways we never before imagined. Join us as we explore the research and effects of artificial lighting as well as mitigation measures we can all take to minimize the effects of the human desire to overcome the darkness of night.
Bryan has spent the past 15-years as a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Asheville, North Carolina. He currently serves as the USFWS – Southeast Region recovery biologist for the federally endangered rusty-patched bumble bee and is the Energy Project Coordinator for the Asheville Field Office where he reviews energy production and development projects such as hydropower, coal combustion, natural gas, solar arrays, and wind farms. His job responsibilities consist of coordinating with energy companies to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats from impacts associated with energy production projects. His recent efforts have been focused on the conservation of pollinator species with emphasis on the preservation and restoration of native pollinator habitat in North Carolina. He is a founding member of the North Carolina Pollinator Conservation Alliance – a diverse group of dedicated stakeholders from state and federal agencies, educational institutions, businesses, and non-profit organizations that have shared interests in advancing pollinator conservation in North Carolina and an active member of the Asheville Bee City Leadership Committee. In his free time, Bryan enjoys backcountry camping, float fishing the many beautiful rivers of western North Carolina, gardening, and spending time in the outdoors with his family.
Registration
New Belgium Pollinator-Friendly Landscape Tour: with Sarah Fraser
Thursday, June 24, 3:30 - 4:30pm
Description: Join Sarah Fraser, New Belgium's Sustainability Specialist, for a tour of their pollinator-friendly landscape. As part of a multi-faceted effort to make their Asheville brewery as sustainable as possible, New Belgium has incorporated an array of native, pollinator-friendly plants into their landscape. Stop by to learn more about what they're doing to help pollinators and grab a beer afterwards! Please meet outside the Liquid Center.
Location: 21 Craven St, Asheville, NC 28806
Registration (FULL)
Thursday, June 24, 3:30 - 4:30pm
Description: Join Sarah Fraser, New Belgium's Sustainability Specialist, for a tour of their pollinator-friendly landscape. As part of a multi-faceted effort to make their Asheville brewery as sustainable as possible, New Belgium has incorporated an array of native, pollinator-friendly plants into their landscape. Stop by to learn more about what they're doing to help pollinators and grab a beer afterwards! Please meet outside the Liquid Center.
Location: 21 Craven St, Asheville, NC 28806
Registration (FULL)
Native Bees, Native Plants, and Your Role in Bee Conservation: a talk with Sam Droege
View Recording Here
Thursday, June 24, 6:00 - 8:00pm
Description: With over 500 known species of bees in the state, it is not surprising that their conservation is a bit more complex than planting packets of "pollinator" seeds. We will explore a tiny bit of regional bee diversity; point out species groups of plants that are particularly important to creating that bee diversity and talk about how your property (no matter how small) and community can be a contribution to the harboring, and the conservation of, a diverse group of interesting bees.
Sam Droege is a wildlife biologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, part of the US Geological Survey. He is widely published in journals and has been the editor of numerous government publications on birds and insects. His work cataloging and photographing bees has been featured by NPR, The Weather Channel, and the National Wildlife Federation, as well as in numerous publications including Wired, the Wall Street Journal, and Popular Science.
Location: The Cloud Room, Wedge at Foundation - 5 Foundy St, Asheville, NC 28801
Insect photos from Sam's lab
View Recording Here
Thursday, June 24, 6:00 - 8:00pm
Description: With over 500 known species of bees in the state, it is not surprising that their conservation is a bit more complex than planting packets of "pollinator" seeds. We will explore a tiny bit of regional bee diversity; point out species groups of plants that are particularly important to creating that bee diversity and talk about how your property (no matter how small) and community can be a contribution to the harboring, and the conservation of, a diverse group of interesting bees.
Sam Droege is a wildlife biologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, part of the US Geological Survey. He is widely published in journals and has been the editor of numerous government publications on birds and insects. His work cataloging and photographing bees has been featured by NPR, The Weather Channel, and the National Wildlife Federation, as well as in numerous publications including Wired, the Wall Street Journal, and Popular Science.
Location: The Cloud Room, Wedge at Foundation - 5 Foundy St, Asheville, NC 28801
Insect photos from Sam's lab
Reems Creek Nursery Pollinator Garden Tour: with Tanya LaCorte & Ruth Gonzalez
Saturday, June 26 — Two sessions: 10 am & 2 pm
Description: In a very small space at Reems Creek Nursery we’ve created a beautiful Pollinator Garden that supports pollinators throughout the growing season. During the Garden Tour we’ll have a casual discussion of our favorite plants, why we like them, and demonstrate design considerations. We’ll showcase the native plants in our Habitat as they offer extra benefits to pollinators. Our tour is limited to 15 people per session so we can socially distance.
Location: Reems Creek Nursery - 76 Monticello Rd, Weaverville, NC 2878
Registration
Saturday, June 26 — Two sessions: 10 am & 2 pm
Description: In a very small space at Reems Creek Nursery we’ve created a beautiful Pollinator Garden that supports pollinators throughout the growing season. During the Garden Tour we’ll have a casual discussion of our favorite plants, why we like them, and demonstrate design considerations. We’ll showcase the native plants in our Habitat as they offer extra benefits to pollinators. Our tour is limited to 15 people per session so we can socially distance.
Location: Reems Creek Nursery - 76 Monticello Rd, Weaverville, NC 2878
Registration
Pocket Meadow and Monarch Waystation Tour: with Emily Sampson of PatchWork Meadows
Saturday, June 26, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Description: Emily Sampson will lead the group on a tour of the beautiful 600 square foot pocket meadow on the steep bank at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain. The meadow, created in the fall of 2019, is a Monarch Waystation and exemplifies the vast benefits that even a small planting space can provide. In its second full year, it's proving to be easy to maintain while providing a diverse habitat for pollinators. Emily will discuss converting portions of lawns into functional pollinator meadows, methods and techniques that she has implemented, and will touch on slope erosion control using native pollinator plants. Participants get a free milkweed start while supplies last!
PatchWork Meadows is a Green business, growing and installing native plants for pollinator habitat. Their goal is to convert sections of residential and commercial lawn into beautiful wildflower meadow patches that benefit bees, butterflies, birds and other wildlife.
Location: Lake Tomahawk Park - 401 Laurel Circle Drive, Black Mountain, NC (below the public pool and adjacent to senior center)
Registration
Saturday, June 26, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Description: Emily Sampson will lead the group on a tour of the beautiful 600 square foot pocket meadow on the steep bank at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain. The meadow, created in the fall of 2019, is a Monarch Waystation and exemplifies the vast benefits that even a small planting space can provide. In its second full year, it's proving to be easy to maintain while providing a diverse habitat for pollinators. Emily will discuss converting portions of lawns into functional pollinator meadows, methods and techniques that she has implemented, and will touch on slope erosion control using native pollinator plants. Participants get a free milkweed start while supplies last!
PatchWork Meadows is a Green business, growing and installing native plants for pollinator habitat. Their goal is to convert sections of residential and commercial lawn into beautiful wildflower meadow patches that benefit bees, butterflies, birds and other wildlife.
Location: Lake Tomahawk Park - 401 Laurel Circle Drive, Black Mountain, NC (below the public pool and adjacent to senior center)
Registration
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RAD Pollinator Celebration and Milkweed Giveaway
Sunday, June 27, 11am - 3pm Description: Join us for a Pollination Celebration finale along the Wilma Dykeman greenway in the River Arts District. We'll have pollinator educators, kid's activities, jun samples from Shanti's Elixers, pollinator-themed puppeteering from the Street Creature Puppet Collective (12 - 2pm), AND we'll have milkweed starts to give away, while supplies last! Location: Wilma Dykeman Greenway - 221 Riverside Drive, Asheville, NC 28801 |
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Bee Decals!
You may have seen these bee decals in shop windows around town. These awesome businesses are showing they're support for Bee City USA - Asheville and for the pollinators we advocate for! You can get a bee decal of your very own (all proceeds support Bee City USA - Asheville) at a number of locations around Asheville and Weaverville: The Asheville Bee Charmer - 38 Battery Park Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 Nest Organics - 51 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 Bloomin' Art - 60 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801 Reems Creek Nursery - 76 Monticello Rd, Weaverville, NC 28787 Honey and the Hive - 23 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville, NC 28787 |