Catch the buzz: Join MSU Extension for a new conference on wild pollinators
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EmailMSU Extension will host a one-day event about wild bees with lectures and interactive sessions.
Whether you grow wildflowers, vegetables, or fruit, there’s a good chance that at least some of your plants are pollinated by bees. These essential insects help plants reproduce by transferring pollen to the female reproductive parts of a plant. Bees require pollen and nectar from flowers as well as a place to nest. Michigan State University Extension is excited to offer a one-day conference about wild bees and efforts to protect them in residential landscapes.
With generous support from a U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, MSU Extension will host the Healthy Habitats and Productive Pollinators conference at Crossroads Village in Flint, MI on June 18, 2026 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Pre-registration is required. A subsidized registration fee of $65 includes access to three morning lectures on exciting updates about pollinator research and outreach in Michigan and the Great Lakes region, lunch that includes honey tasting, and interactive breakout sessions in the afternoon. All attendees will receive native plant starts that can be added to their own gardens.
Elaine Evans, PhD, an Extension Researcher whose work at University of Minnesota supports bee conservation, will deliver the conference keynote. The morning program also includes two presentations from MSU entomologists on long-term trends of Michigan bumble bees and supporting Michigan pollinators in urban landscapes.
Conference attendees may choose up to three breakout session topics, each offering a small-group, interactive setting to explore pollinator-related issues in greater depth.
Breakout sessions include:
- Best practices for photographing bees on flowers and useful platforms to submit bee observations, presented by Logan Rowe, Michigan Natural Features Inventory
- Native bee habitat management for urban farms and gardens, presented by Jennifer Roedel and Karma Thomas, MSU Department of Entomology
- Planting containers for pollinators, presented by Lindsey Kerr, MSU Extension
- Native plant landscaping walk, presented by Carolyn Miller, MSU Arboretum
- Pollinator identification and field walk, presented by David Lowenstein, PhD, MSU Extension
- Pollinator protection from pesticides, presented by Ana Heck, MSU Extension
- Pollinator education toolkit, presented by Elaine Evans, PhD, University of Minnesota
This event is ideal for both beginners who are just starting to garden for pollinators and experienced gardeners seeking best practices for supporting wild bees and strategies for sharing pollinator habitats with others.
Residential yards and gardens account for a significant amount of space in Michigan communities. Management practices of these green spaces can help or hinder wild bee populations. With knowledge and intension, these landscapes can play a critical role in supporting bees, including some of our most at-risk pollinators. This event is the next step to improving cultivated places at home: learn from experts, be inspired by pollinator protection, and take action in your own community to attract and maintain pollinators. Come with an open mind, and leave with native plants, new ideas, tools to strengthen pollinator conservation, and ties to a growing community of like-minded gardeners. For those who are not able to attend but are interested in learning more about pollinators, MSU Extension offers excellent online resources for gardeners looking to make positive changes to their gardening practices.
Register for the Healthy Habitats and Productive Pollinators Conference
Acknowledgment
This work is supported by the Crop Protection and Pest Management Program [grant no 2024-70006-43569] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
