UC Davis Bee Haven

01/07/2025

From all of us at UC Davis Bee Haven we hope you have a prosperous and Happy New Year! In collaboration with Samantha Murray, Joseph Tauzer and David Fujino we have been working to continue upgrades on the Garden’s irrigation system, provide plant maintenance, and begin plans for other infrastructure and programming enhancements. We hope that you can come and visit the Haven soon as it is always open dawn to dusk. In the meantime please learn a little bit more about our new student garden coordinator Samantha (Sam) Murray.

Samantha Murray tending bees Hearing a queen bee piping is music to her ears. So is the shimmering sound of the harp.

07/19/2024

We are grateful to Dr. Christine Casey for her years of service during which time she and the wonderful volunteers have made the garden a truly inspiring place to visit and learn about our many important pollinators and the plants that support them. We wish Christine all the best in her future efforts.

This of course means that the garden will be going through a transition period and we thank our visitors for their patience while we are going through this process. The UC Davis Bee Haven will remain open for self-guided tours. Staff-led tours will resume in the future. Please check back here for any updates and for any questions please contact Elina L. Niño at [email protected]

03/25/2024

The Haven is 15! Join us on April 6 to mark this milestone. We'll be celebrating from 10am to noon, with a tour of the Haven at 11am. There will be information about UC Davis pollinator research, along with our ever-popular 'catch and release' bee observation activity. Free admission and free parking.

02/07/2024

Gardening for Bees class registration now open.

Bee pollination brings us much of our food and supports most of our wildland plants. Interest in helping bee pollinators has never been greater, but what can you do in your own garden to make sure it is bee-friendly? We’ll discuss bee science-based garden design and plant selection to ensure a healthy bee garden. The class will conclude with a tour of the Haven for a hands-on look at plants and bees. This is a hybrid class. There will be a video to view before the class meeting; the in-person portion will take place at the UC Davis Bee Haven on the Davis campus.

We're offering the class at four times to accommodate varying schedules: March 23 at 9am to 10am; March 26 at noon to 1pm; April 9 at noon to 1pm; and April 13 at 9am to 10am.

To mark our 15th year, classes have a fee of only $15 with all proceeds supporting the Haven. Registration links:

March 23: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1096
March 26: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1097
April 9: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1099
April 13: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1098

02/07/2024

Our new cover photo is Ribes aureum, golden currant. This California native shrub is among the first to bloom in later winter. It's a versatile plant that will grow in sun or shade and needs no summer water in most areas.

09/19/2023

Due to popular demand, I've added a remote-only registration option for our "Pruning the Bee Garden" class. This will be the last time this class is offered, so it's time to register if you've missed this class in previous years. The videos are the same as the hybrid class, but there will be no hands-on experience. Full details and registration are at the QR code in the photo or https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1058. All proceeds support the Haven.

09/05/2023

Fall is for pruning, and our "Pruning the Bee Garden" class is back. This will be the last time this class is offered, so it's time to register if you've missed this class in previous years. Full details and registration are at the QR code in the photo or https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1051