- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Admission and parking are free, but visitors must adhere to the COVID-19 Campus Ready guidelines. Masks will be required in accordance with campus policies, organizers said. (See news story)
It's a science-based event featuring scores of exhibits and it's an opportunity for visitors to chat with the scientists. Eleven UC Davis museums and collections will showcase their displays, ranging from stick insects to hawks to yeast cultures:
- Arboretum and Public Garden
- Bee Haven
- Bohart Museum of Entomology
- Botanical Conservatory
- California Raptor Center
- Center for Plant Diversity
- Department of Anthropology Museum
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
- Nematode Collection
- Paleontology Collection
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection
In addition to the central exposition, several side tours are planned. Destinations: Bohart Museum of Entomology, Bee Garden, Botanical Conservatory and the Yeast Culture Collection. The newest addition?
The Texas Tree Trials project is an exciting one. In the face of climate change, what trees should we plant in the Sacramento Valley region that could might do better in our triple-digit temperatures and ensuing drought? What trees are the most resilient?
As Urban Tree Stewardship interns Akanksha Pabari and Karla Tapia of Learning by Leading write on the Arboretum website: "As climate change becomes a more urgent issue and global temperatures continue to rise, 58% of our current urban tree species are predicted to be to be unsuitable for the projected 2100 climate in the Sacramento Valley region (McBride & Lacán, 20181). To prepare for this monumental loss, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is working hard to establish a more resilient and climate-adapted tree canopy. With support from the Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment, the Texas Tree Trials will provide the long-term research needed to adapt by testing the drought and heat tolerance of 40 new and underutilized tree species from west and central Texas. The knowledge and selections from these field trials will help the Sacramento Valley region diversify its urban forest to ensure its resilience in a changing world."
The team collected seeds from west and central Texas, referencing climate models.
Some of the trees are virtual "food banks" for insects.
"Many of the trees are keystone oaks that support tons of insects," Davis related. "There are also some flowering trees like Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa) and mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) that are amazing for pollinators." Check out the full list here.
The mesquite tree, for example, attracts honey bees and native bees that forage for nectar and pollen. It's also the host plan for several species of butterflies.
"Through this research, the Arboretum and Public Garden hopes to expand the availability of promising, climate-adapted, and resilient trees to ensure that our beautiful and vibrant tree canopy continues to flourish," the Pabari-Tapla team wrote. "So next time you visit the Arboretum and Public Garden, be sure to stop by and enjoy the new planting site with all of the novel trees that will hopefully shade us for generations to come."
In the meantime, get out those walking shoes for the March 6th Texas Tree Trials Tour (TTTT)!
And if you'd like to help support the Biodiversity Museum Day Crowdfund, which ends at 12:50 p.m., Feb. 18, you can access the project at https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. Donors can be anonymous in name or contribution, or can donate in honor of or in memory of someone. Contributions from $5 on up are welcome, said the two project managers Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis. The goal is $5000.
"Donations will not only help us sustain the free, in-person event, it will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level," they said. "The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post."
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is traditionally held on the Saturday of Presidents' Day weekend. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last year's event was virtual, and this year's event is centrally located in the Conference Center. For more information, access the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day website and/or connect with Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
But the event also will include several tours to museums or collections.
One of the tours will be to the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre bee demonstration garden located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus.
Honey bees and native bees, as well as butterflies, dragonflies and other insects, frequent the garden.
The Haven staff will offer tours at noon and at 2 p.m., with a limit of 20 people per tour. "We'll focus on how best to observe and identify bees in the garden, as well as suggested bee plants that grow well in our area with low water," said Christine Casey, academic program management officer of the Bee Haven.
The garden, operated and maintained by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, was installed in the fall of 2009 when professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology headed the department as interim chair. The art featured in the garden is the work of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, co-founded and co-directed by entomology professor/artist Diane Ullman and self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick. A six-foot-long ceramic-mosaic bee sculpture, crafted by Billick, anchors the garden. Columns of ceramic-mosaic bee boxes flank the entrance. Other sculptures beautify the garden as well.
Another project, supervised by Ullman and Billick in 2011 and coordinated by then doctoral student Sarah Dalrymple of the Rick Karban lab, features a mural of mostly native bees on the garden shed.
Background: Ullman and Billick were teaching an Entomology 1 class, "Art, Science and the World of Insects," with 22 students enrolled. Dalrymple, the teaching assistant, guided the students in the design, creation and installation of the panels.
The 22 students portrayed 22 bees, including such natives as mason, sweat, squash, leafcutter, blue orchard, carpenter and bumble bees. One of the non-natives: the European wool carder bee.
The UC Davis Bee Haven is in the midst of raising funds to finance classroom visits from low-income schools, and visits by youth groups. The fundraising project, with a goal of $3000, ends at 12:59 p.m., Feb 28. View Casey's ;YouTube video and access the Haven website. The CrowdFund site is at https://crowdfund.ucdavis.edu/project/29773
The bee garden is open daily from dawn to dusk except for Tuesdays (opens at 10 a.m.) "so we can maintain physical distance during garden maintenance," Casey says. Admission is free.
Resource:
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So when UC Davis biology laboratory manager (and talented artist) Ivana Li was asked in 2020 for a graphic to help publicize the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, what better art than a double-decker bus featuring the participating museums and collections?
The graphic graced the volunteers' t-shirts that year. Then in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic detoured the free, science-based, in-person event (usually held the Saturday of Presidents' Day weekend) and it rolled into a month of virtual presentations.
This year's event, the 11th annual, is set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 6, in the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane. For the first time, all the displays--from barn owls to stick insects to pine cones to Cretaceous fossils--will be in one place.
And Ivana Li has revised the bus art.
All aboard! C'mon in, Ms. Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. Don't sit too close to Mr. Golden Eagle. Buzz in Ms. Honey Bee. Stay away from Mr. Chinese Praying Mantis, Tenodera sinensis. Sorry, but the driver can neither guarantee your safety nor your arrival at your intended destination.
Okay, roll call!
The passengers:
- California Raptor Center: Golden eagle
- UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden: Valley oak leaf
- Anthropology Museum: Projectile point
- Botanical Conservatory: Titan arum
- Phaff Yeast Collection: Budding yeast
- Paleontology Collection: Skull
- UC Davis Bee Haven: Honey Bee
- Bohart Museum of Entomology: Chinese praying mantis, Tenodera sinensis
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology: Salt marsh harvest mouse
- Nematode Collection: Hookworm
- Center for Plant Diversity: Seed cone of a gray pine
- Marine Invertebrates Collection: California sea cucumber (included on bus but this collection will not be included at the Biodiversity Museum Day)
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day promises to be educational, informative and entertaining. Scientists will be there to greet and talk to the visitors. Admission is free, as is the parking. Side trips or tours of some of the facilities or collections, including the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Botanical Conservatory, Arboretum and Public Garden, and the yeast collection are planned but not yet scheduled.
This event is open to the public, but to gain admission, all visitors are required to adhere to UC Davis COVID-19 policies and practices. Currently, this means wearing appropriate masks, being fully vaccinated or showing a recent negative test, and being approved to enter the campus via the Daily Symptom Survey. Attendees are expected to be primarily those associated with the UC Davis and Davis communities. (The general public will have an opportunity to see these displays and more at the 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day, a campuswide open house on April 23.)
Want to support the annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day? Please consider donating to the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum 2022 Crowdfund by accessing https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. You can be anonymous in name or contribution, or you can add your name to the donor wall in honor of someone, or in memory of a loved one. The Crowdfund ends at 12:59 p.m. on Feb. 28.
Contributions from $5 on up are welcome, said project managers Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis, a GATEways horticulturist and museum scientist at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
"Donations will not only help us sustain the free, in-person event, it will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level," they said. "The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post."
Any amount is appreciated: $5 will get you into the Fantastic Yeasts category; $10, the Sprout (Valley Oaks) category; $25, the Bumble Bee category; and $50, the Jeweled Spider Fly category. Other categories include Atlati, California Condor, and Smilodon. The goal: $5000.
For more information, access the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day website and/or connect with Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
What is the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?
It's a free, open-to-the-public, science-based day that annually takes place the Saturday of Presidents' Day weekend and showcases nearly a dozen museums or collections. It's an opportunity for campus visitors to see exhibits and displays at various points on campus and converse with the scientists.
This year is the 11th annual. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and UC Davis policies, the 2022 Biodiversity Museum Day will be held at one site--the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane--and will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 6. What's also different? It's geared for undergraduates and other members of the UC Davis community instead of the general public from surrounding counties. (The general public can look forward to the UC Davis Picnic Day on April 23, 2022 when many of the same museums and collections are scheduled to be featured.)
Participating collections at the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day include, but are not limited to, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Arboretum and Public Garden, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, California Raptor Center, Paleontology Collections, Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity, Nematode Collections, and Department of Anthropology Museum.
At the March 6th event, COVID guidelines for UC Davis, Yolo County and the state of California--including appropriate mask wearing, UC Davis symptom surveys, vaccination records or negative COVID tests--will be followed.
But back to "bee my valentine."
Honey bees are an integral to at least three of the museums/collections:
- The Bohart Museum of Entomology, part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology andNematology, houses a worldwide collection of eight million insect specimens, including honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees and more. The insect museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, but it's currently closed to the public due to COVID pandemic.
- The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology andNematology, is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. The late Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, recorded more than 80 species of bees here.
- The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is a 100-acre site that's the pride and joy of the campus community. It's frequented by nature lovers, walkers, hikers and bicyclists, among others--and bees! The 100-acre site also boasts the much applauded 100 Arboretum All-Stars.
How can you help the bees as well as other fauna and the flora associated with UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?
A UC Davis Crowdfunding Project is underway until 11:59 p.m., Feb. 28. Contributions from $5 on up are welcome, said project managers Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis, a GATEways horticulturist and museum scientist at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
"Donations will not only help us sustain the free, in-person event, it will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level," they said. "The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post."
Any amount is appreciated: $5 will get you into the Fantastic Yeasts category; $10, the Sprout (Valley Oaks) category; $25, the Bumble Bee category; and $50, the Jeweled Spider Fly category. Other categories include Atlati, California Condor, and Smilodon. The goal: $5000.
Key expenses include:
- Volunteer support ($2000)
- Event rentals ($1500)
- Event materials ($1500)
To donate, access https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. You can be anonymous in name or contribution, or you can have your name listed on the donor wall in honor of someone, or in memory of someone.
Or you can just say "Bee my Valentine."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When the 11th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day takes place Sunday, March 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane, the attendance focus will be on the UC Davis community, specifically the undergraduate students.
It's a free, science-focused event that in years past, drew thousands of science fans from Yolo and surrounding counties. "This year we're focusing on undergraduate attendance," said coordinator Tabatha Yang, the education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology. "The undergrads haven't been able to experience campus life much, due to COVID pandemic policies."
COVID pandemic precautions kept the 2021 event virtual but this year it will be in person, but COVID campus safety policies will be implemented.
In the past, participants enjoyed visiting these collections in person:
- Anthropology Museum
- Arboretum and Public Garden
- Bohart Museum of Entomology
- Botanical Conservatory
- California Raptor Center
- Center for Plant Diversity
- Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven
- Nematode Collection
- Marine Invertebrate Collection
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
- Paleontology Collection
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection
- Viticulture and Enology Collection
The committee is working out the details at its weekly Zoom meetings. For up-to-date information, visit the the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day and follow on Twitter and Facebook.
And the thousands of other science fans eager to head over to UC Davis? The 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day awaits, and the same museums for Biodiversity Museum Day are among those slated to participate. The campuswide Picnic Day, on hold for the last two years due to the COVID pandemic, is scheduled for Saturday, April 23. The theme? "Discovering Tomorrow."
But on Sunday, March 6, the undergraduate students and others in UC Davis community will be discovering or learning more about science.