- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Headlines on colony collapse disorder dominated the news media, as scientists declared "honey bees are in trouble."
Under the direction of interim department chair Lynn Kimsey, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, a crew installed the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven (named for it major donor) on Bee Biology Road, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
Fast forward to the fall of 2019.
A 10th anniversary celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28 in the bee garden. It will include sales of plants and native bee condos, honey tasting (honey from Sola Bee Honey, Woodland), catch-and-release bee observation and identification, and beekeeping and research displays. Several mini lectures are planned.
Visitors will see analemmatic sundial--the only one of its kind in the Sacramento area--and they can discuss the sundial with dial master and beekeeper Rick Williams, M.D. to learn how the dial was created and the links between human and bee perception of the sun. Visitors also will learn about "our research on bee use of ornamental landscape plants," said manager Chris Casey. In addition, visitors can "donate a book on insects, gardening, or nature for our Little Free Library," she announced.
The schedule:
- 10:30 a.m.: Donor and volunteer recognition
- 11 a.m.: Hive opening by beekeeper from the California Master Beekeepers' Association
- 11:30: Mini lecture, "Getting Started with Beekeeping"
- 12: Mini lecture, "Plants for Bees"
- 12:30: Mini lecture, "Using Solitary Bee Houses
- 1 p.m.: Hive opening by beekeeper from the California Master Beekeepers' Association
History of the Bee Garden
Häagen-Dazs wanted the funds to benefit sustainable pollination research, target colony collapse disorder, and support a postdoctoral researcher. It was decided to install an educational garden, conduct a design contest, and award a research postdoctoral fellowship to Michelle Flenniken (now with the Montana State University).
A Sausalito team--landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki--won the design competition. The garden was installed in the fall of 2009 under the direction of interim department chair Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology.
An eight-member panel selected the winner of the design competition: Professor Kimsey; founding garden manager Missy Borel (now Missy Borel Gable), then of the California Center for Urban Horticulture; David Fujino, executive director, California Center for Urban Horticulture at UC Davis; Aaron Majors, construction department manager, Cagwin & Dorward Landscape Contractors, based in Novato; Diane McIntyre, senior public relations manager, Häagen-Dazs ice cream; Heath Schenker, professor of environmental design, UC Davis; Jacob Voit, sustainability manager and construction project manager, Cagwin and Dorward Landscape Contractors; and Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology.
Others who had a key role in the founding and "look" of the garden included the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, founded and directed by the duo of entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick. The art in the garden is the work of their students, ranging from those in Entomology 1 class to community residents. Eagle Scout Derek Tully planned, organized and built a state-of-the-art fence around the garden.
"The Honey Bee Haven will be a pollinator paradise," Kimsey related in December 2008. "It will provide a much needed, year-round food source for our bees at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. We anticipate it also will be a gathering place to inform and educate the public about bees. We are grateful to Haagen-Dazs for its continued efforts to ensure bee health."
The garden, Kimsey said, would include a seasonal variety of blooming plants that will provide a year-round food source for honey bees. It would be a living laboratory supporting research into the nutritional needs and natural feeding behaviors of honey bees and other insect pollinators.
Visitors to the garden, she said, would able to glean ideas on how to establish their own bee-friendly gardens and help to improve the nutrition of bees in their own backyards.
Feb. 19, 2008
Häagen-Dazs Donation to UC Davis
Dec. 8, 2008
Häagen-Dazs Launches Bee Garden Design Contest
Aug. 6, 2008
Insect Virus Researcher Michelle Flenniken Named Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis
Feb. 26, 2009
Sausalito Team Wins Design Competition
Aug. 6, 2009
Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Site Preparation
Aug. 13, 2009
Bee Biology Website to Be Launched
Aug. 13, 2009
Thinking Outside the Box
Sept. 15, 2009
Campus Buzzway: Wildflowers
Dec. 15, 2009
Bee Biology Website Lauded
2010
June 6, 2010
Grand Opening Celebration of Honey Bee Garden
July 15, 2010
Art Is Where the Community Is; Blending Science with Art in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven
July 30, 2010
More Than 50 Bee Species Found in Haven: Robbin Thorp (Now there's more than 80 and counting!)
Aug. 25, 2010
Donna Billick: Miss Bee Haven
Aug. 11, 2011
What the Signs Tell Us in the UC Davis Honey Bee Garden
Aug. 24, 2011
Royal Visit to Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility
April 11, 2012
Brian Fishback: Spreading the Word about Honey Bees
Aug. 26, 2013
Eagle Scout Project: Fence Around the Bee Garden
Sept. 11 2012
A Fence to Behold
2013
April 25, 2013
UC Davis Bee Team Wins Major Award
Aug. 1, 2013
Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Place to Be
With photo of founding volunteers
Donors
List of Donors Who Helped Launch the Garden (2009 through July 2014)
Missy Borel, then manager of the California Center for Urban Horticulture (and now Missy Borel Gable, director of the California Master Gardener Program) served as the founding manager, a part-time position. Nineteen volunteers assisted her.
Today Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, serves as the faculty director of the bee garden. Christine Casey is the academic program manager.
For more information on the garden, access the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven website or contact beegarden@ucdavis.edu.
It's listed as one of the Sacramento Bee's top 10 garden destinations in the Sacramento/Yolo area.
Reporter Debbie Arrington wrote that “Local gardeners don't have to go far to find inspiration. Our region is dotted with memorable public gardens that offer beauty and food for thought along with relaxation. A stroll through any of these destinations may turn up a new favorite shrub or eye-catching flower. In these gardens, you can see firsthand how thousands of plants have adapted to our climate and often low-water conditions. Best of all: Admission is free.”
The Top Ten:
- UC Davis Arboretum, UC Davis campus
- Historic City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento
- University Arboretum, J Street and Carlson Drive, on the campus of California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J St., Sacramento
- Charles C. Jensen Botanical Garden, 8520 Fair Oaks, Blvd. Carmichael
- WPA Rock Garden, Land Park, next to the amphitheater off Land Park Drive at 15th Street, Sacramento
- Water-Efficient Landscape demonstration garden, Fair Oaks Park, 8100 Temple Park Road, Fair Oaks
- Capitol Park, 11th and L streets, Sacramento
- World Peace Rose Garden, 15th Street and Capitol Avenue, Sacramento
- Frederick N. Evans Memorial Rose Garden, McKinley Park, H Street between Alhambra Boulevard and 33rd Street, Sacramento
- Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Bee Biology Road, UC Davis
The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden located on Bee Biology Road, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility was planted in 2009 during the tenure of Lynn Kimsey, then interim chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. A public opening celebration took place Sept. 11, 2010.
A 19-member group of devoted volunteers, led by coordinator Melissa “Missy” (Borel) Gable and team leader Mary Patterson of Davis, kept the garden beautiful. The 19 volunteers chalked up 5,229 hours of service between May 2010 and Feb. 15, 2013. At the $10 minimum wage, that would have amounted to $52,290. The volunteers completed their duties at the haven on Feb. 15.
Gable, former program manager of the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) at UC Davis, accepted a position on Feb. 11 as the public engagement manager at the UC Davis Arboretum. While at CCUH, she coordinated the design competition for the haven, helped develop the garden through donations and an outreach program, and recruited and coordinated additional campus programs to add educational and art content to the garden. She worked closely with the volunteer crew, who tended the garden on Friday mornings.
In addition to Gable and Patterson, the gardeners included Randy Beaton, Tyng Tyng Cheng, Judy Hills, Carolyn Hinshaw, Kristen Kolb, Marion London, Kate McDonald, Kathy Olson, Nancy Stone, Janet Thatcher, Laura Westrup, Nyla Wiebe, Gary Zamzow, and Kili Bong and son Evan Marczak, all of Davis, and Laurie Hildebrandt and Joe Frankenfield, Woodland.
Said Mary Patterson: "Since I was a student at UC Davis, I have always enjoyed the Olive Drive part of campus. Working at the Bee Garden was a great opportunity for our gardening group. We worked hard to make a special place for the bees and the community. We hope the garden will continue to thrive."
Carolyn Hinshaw called the experience rewarding and educational: “Several of us started gardening here when the garden was still struggling to get established --so it has been very rewarding and educational to experience its transformation to a plant haven for bees, butterflies and many other insects.”
The gardeners also enjoyed discussing plants and insects with the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty and staff. Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology, monitors the garden and has detected more than 75 species of bees since its inception.
“My time volunteering at the garden was not entirely altruistic,” Laurie Hildebrandt said. “I took away more than I gave. I learned so much about the plants that pollinators adore, and how to care for those plants, by working with smart and friendly people. Plus, a huge bonus to being in the garden on Friday mornings was having the chance to talk with Robbin Thorp and Kathy Keatley Garvey (communications specialist for the Department of Entomology) about bees and the other insects that visit there. I have one hive at home, too, so when I had a potential problem with it, Robbin introduced me to Kim Fondrk in Bee Biology where I was given excellent advice. My time working there resulted in not only helping with garden maintenance for the greater good of the bees but gaining knowledge from amazing gardeners and insect experts.”
Marion London considered working in the garden an honor. “Every time I drove to volunteer at the bee garden I experienced the exhilaration of going into open agricultural space. As a volunteer working in the space that has become a garden, and watching the transformation of this garden area was an honor. The volunteer gardeners worked as a team using their particular knowledge, muscle and wit. Visitors came by as we worked in the bee garden, and appreciated the garden and its purpose.”
Randy Beaton described the volunteer work as cathartic and rewarding. “I started gardening at the Bee Haven in August of 2011 as a newcomer to the area,” she said. “It was so cathartic to find a group of like minded people and get to 'play' at the lovely venue that it helped my transition to California living. The garden is so vital and alive that it's been a pleasure to keep it going and watch it thrive. The proof is there to see and watch as all the bees (more than 75 species), butterflies and birds sample gifts from the garden. It's very rewarding to be able to see the results of our hard work and we learned something new almost every time we were out there. And the gardeners.... It was also fun to work with the group--we chatted about gardening and other things and we laughed a lot so the hard work seemed easy. It was just great to share the work with others who also shared a passion for gardening and pollinators with me! “
Gary Zamzow not only gardened, but was the "resident bumble bee watcher." He continues to capture images of bumble bees and other insects in the garden.
Art in the garden is also big draw. The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, directed by Diane Ullman and Donna Billick, has installed bee art in the garden, including two bee box towers at the entrance; a six-foot long ceramic mosaic bee sculpture by Billick; native bee condos; and ceramic mosaic planters. The work is by students, faculty, staff and area residents.
Ullman is the associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Billick is a self-described “rock artist” with two degrees from UC Davis.
The fence circling the garden is the Eagle Scout project of Derek Tully of Boy Troop 111, Davis. He planned and built the post-and-rail fence with the help of a 33-member volunteer crew that he organized and supervised. Tully launched the project April 2, 2012 and completed it Sept. 7, 2012.
The financial backing from Häagen-Dazs originated with a news story written by Kathy Keatley Garvey about bee research under way at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. After reading the news story, Häagen-Dazs officials approached the department chair and donated funds for the garden and for the Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Scholar, awarded to insect virus researcher Michelle Flenniken. She is now a research assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University (MSU), Bozeman.
Häagen-Dazs ice cream initially committed $125,000 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology for the garden project. This encompassed site planning, preparation and the design competition. Since then, the brand has generously donated more funds. Cagwin & Dorward Landscape Contractors served as the landscape contractors. The list of other donors is at http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/HAVEN/donors.html.
Winning the international design competition was the Sausalito team of landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki. The blueprint is online at http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/HAVEN/honeybeehaven.html.
The garden is open from dawn to dusk for self-guided tours. Admission is free. For guided tours, which began March 1, groups and organizations can contact Christine Casey at cacasey@ucdavis.edu. The fee for the guided tours is $4 per person.
Anyone who wishes to volunteer in the garden can download an application at http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/HAVEN/index.html. Volunteers must be at least 18, Casey said.
Caption
The gardeners at the haven: Front row (from left) Kili Bong, Davis; Tyng Tyng Cheng, Davis; Missy Gable, Davis; Evan Marczak, 6, Davis (son of Kili Bong); Mary Patterson, Davis; Kristen Kolb, Davis, and mascot Olive. In back (from left) are Nancy Stone, Davis; Laurie Hildebrandt, Woodland; Billy Synk, staff associate research associate and beekeeper at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility; Marion London, Davis; Judy Hills, Davis; and Laura Westrup, Davis. Not pictured: Kathy Olson, Nyla Wiebe, Gary Zamzow, Randy Beaton, Janet Thatcher and Kate McDonald, all of Davis, and Joe Frankenfield, Woodland. The haven gardeners are now working at the UC Davis Arboretum at the plant sales nursery, pollinator garden, and at Nature's Gallery. Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894