Buzzing Beyond the Honey Bee: Native Pollinators You Never Knew

Friday, August 7 | 12:30-1:30 p.m. | Garden Pavilion | Free with admission or Membership

Join Janet Manuel, Ecological Stewardship Manager, and Emma McGee, Horticulturalist, for this engaging Lunch & Learn series designed to help you discover, identify, and appreciate the incredible diversity of pollinators found throughout our region. Each session combines an interactive classroom discussion with guided outdoor observation, giving participants the opportunity to identify pollinators in their natural habitat while learning how their behavior supports healthy ecosystems.

Each session includes hands-on instruction for participating in the 2026 Great Southeast Pollinator Census, an annual community science initiative that asks volunteers to spend just 15 minutes observing and counting pollinators. The data collected helps researchers, land managers, educators, and conservation organizations better understand pollinator populations, habitat use, and long-term trends while supporting conservation efforts across the Southeast. Whether you participate at Daniel Stowe Conservancy or in your own backyard, you’ll be contributing valuable information that helps protect these essential species.

Session 1: Buzzing Beyond the Honey Bee: Native Pollinators You Never Knew

Discover the remarkable diversity of our native pollinators as we explore carpenter bees, bumble bees, wasps, and flies that quietly provide essential pollination services every day. Learn how to distinguish these often-misunderstood species, observe their unique behaviors in the garden, and discover why many of them are even more effective pollinators than honey bees. The field portion of the class will focus on finding and identifying these insects among Stowe’s summer blooms while practicing observation techniques used during the Great Southeast Pollinator Census.