Submitted by Gordon Frankie on
Farming for Native Bees:
Farming for Native Bees is an innovative, farmer-initiated project addressing a key issue faced by US farmers: the precipitous decline of honey bee pollinators. Based on 12 years of groundbreaking research in urban gardens, Farming for Native Bees partners with 8 small farmers in Brentwood, California, the UC Cooperative Extension, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service to construct on-site native bee habitat.
The project’s overarching goals are to:
Provide farmers with a stable, cost-effective and sustainable supplement of native bees to honey bees.
Establish new habitats that will work to conserve and protect California’s native bees.
Form partnerships with farmers to implement native bee habitats and monitor native bees in California agricultural areas.
Combining on-the-ground restoration, sound scientific research, economic analysis and targeted, hands-on outreach and education, Farming for Native Bees promises to contribute important new insights on the role native bees in agriculture, and engage farmers in their conservation.
The California Statewide Urban Bee Survey:
For over 10 years, the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab has been investigating how selected urban ecosystems are providing habitat for native bee pollinators. Preliminary findings demonstrate that significant numbers of native bees are utilizing urban areas for plant and nesting resources. Over 400 native bee species have been recorded visiting ~500 plant types in urban gardens--almost 25% of bee species known to exist in California! Even more importantly, a predictable group of native bee species can be expected to visit certain ornamental plants. With this kind of information, gardens can be planned to enhance native bee populations and perhaps serve as important genetic refugia for dwindling populations of native bees.
Will gather information on the behavioral and ecological relationships of native California bees to their native California host plants (as well as some non-natives) at the UCB Oxford Tract and several farms in Brentwood, CA (SF east bay). Will do plant gardening at Oxford unit to attract specific native bee species. Will learn to identify many types of native bees. Will use information to do outreach to several audience types such as gardeners, farmers, and K-12 students in East Bay.
Encouraged but not required: gardening experience; background in insect/plant ecology. Cannot have allergies to bee and wasp stings; must work well with several urban audiences doing outreach work.