September 2025 | View as Webpage

You're Invited

Buzzing with Biodiversity: A Celebration of the Incredible Work of BCUSA Affiliates

Join us for a tour of our 2024 renewal report: Buzzing with Biodiversity! So many interesting, fun, and effective pollinator conservation projects were shared in this year’s Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA renewal reports. From pollinator festivals to weed wrangles, we’ll be celebrating their great work — and sharing some beautiful bee photos! We think you will find inspiration for your own community’s pollinator conservation and pesticide reduction work.

Webinar

Buzzing with Biodiversity: A Celebration of the Incredible Work of BCUSA Affiliates

Tuesday, Sept. 30

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

FREE

Register

This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces Society YouTube channel on the Bee City USA Playlist. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact outreach@xerces.org.

Speaker:

Laura Rost

National Coordinator

Bee City USA & Bee Campus USA

Xerces Society

Affiliate Spotlight: Our Very First Bee City, Asheville, NC

We're excited to catch up with Phyllis Stiles, the founder of Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA, and current chair of the first Bee City: Asheville, NC! In this Affiliate Spotlight, Phyl shares details about Bee City Asheville's awesome “Certified Pollinator Advocate” (C.P.A.) program, with a seriously impressive lineup of classes. We think other Bee Cities and Campuses will find a lot of inspiration in this post. Read Bee City Asheville's Spotlight

Leave The Leaves Promo Kit

The leaves are already falling in many cities and campuses. Help your community spread the word about protecting overwintering habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects with our free 2025 Leave the Leaves Promo Kit.

Designed for gardeners, advocates, landscape professionals (and everyone in between), this online toolkit includes talking points, social media content, printable handouts, and a template op-ed to help you effectively spread the word with clear, engaging content.

We hope you enjoy these resources!

Check out your free Leave the Leaves Promo Kit

[Xerces Webinar] The Secret Lives of Bumble Bees: Nesting and Overwintering

We're on the threshold of fall and bumble bees are disappearing from our parks and gardens, but where do they go? Where do they spend the winter and where will they nest next year? And how do you figure out best management practices for bumble bees if their nests and overwintering sites are almost impossible to find?

Join Genevieve Pugesek, Xerces Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, to discuss bumble bee nesting and overwintering ecology, how land management can impact nesting and overwintering bumble bees, and what you can do to help scientists learn more about bumble bee habitat needs.

Webinar

The Secret Lives of Bumble Bees: Nesting and Overwintering

Tuesday, Oct 2

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

FREE

Register

This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces Society YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Speaker:

Genevieve Pugesek

Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, Midwest Bumble Bee Atlas

Xerces Society

New Spanish Language Habitat Signs

Xerces Society now has three Spanish-language habitat signs to our gift center:

• Hábitat para Polinizadores (Pollinator Habitat)
• Las Hojas son Vitales (Leave the Leaves)
• Libre de Pesticidas (Pesticide Free)

Below are the English versions. All items in the Gift Center are available for a tax-deductible donation, which includes a year's membership to Xerces.

Check them out!

THREE New Blog Posts

We have new blog posts you might find helpful:

These super plants are habitat hotspots for western butterfly and moth caterpillars

Why Pollinators, Wildlife, and You Need Federal Public Lands

How to Collect Seeds From Milkweed: A Pod and a Plan

Welcome New Affiliates!

• Bryn Athyn College, PA
• Danville, VA
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ
• University of California, Merced, CA

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. We are available to meet, present, and/or send outreach materials to groups that are interested. Here are the Bee City USA Commitments and Bee Campus USA Commitments. Thank you!

Sept 1 - Sept 30:

Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz, nationwide

Sept 26 - 27

Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) Conference, Decorah, IA

Sept 30 @ 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

Bee City/Campus Webinar: Bee City USA & Bee Campus USA Annual Report

Oct 2 @ 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET

Xerces Webinar: The Secret Lives of Bumble Bees: Nesting and Overwintering

Oct 6 - 9

2025 South Dakota Parks and Recreation Assoc. Annual Conference, Spearfish, SD. (Laura Rost from Bee City USA will be presenting on Oct 8)

Oct 11

World Migratory Bird Day

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

Bee City/Campus Webinar: Non-Chemical Management for Beautiful Buzzing Landscapes

Oct 24 - Oct 31

Bat Week

Have an 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