Nature-Journaling at the UC Davis Bee Haven
Picture this...
You're journaling as a participant in a class at the UC Davis Bee Haven. The garden is not only tranquil but therapeutic. You're writing and sketching about the bees buzzing, the butterflies fluttering, the flowers blooming, and the birds chirping.
That's what took place when Samantha "Sam" Murray, education and garden coordinator of the UC Davis Bee Haven, hosted the garden's first nature-journaling session.
The Haven, a half-acre pollinator demonstration garden installed by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology in the fall of 2009, is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. It's open from dawn to dusk. Admission is free.
Lorie Topinka of Davis, a naturalist, watercolorist and science educator and former assistant director of education at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, led the session.
"The journaling session went really wonderfully!" Murray said. "It was a beautiful time to pause, reflect in the garden, and peacefully appreciate its beauty."
"The participants truly enjoyed it and several expressed interest in coming back if we offer the class again in the future," Murray said. "I also received a few emails from people who were interested in attending but couldn’t make the timing work, so I’m feeling very optimistic about hosting this class again sometime."
Among the class participants was teenager Emma Gable of Davis, whose mother, Missy Gable, director of the California Master Gardener Program, served as The Haven's first manager. Under her tenure, the Sacramento Bee singled out The Haven as one of the top 10 public gardens in the region. The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden scored No. 1. Reporter Debbie Arrington wrote “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.”
A six-foot-long worker bee, sculptured in mosaic and ceramic, anchors the garden. It is the work of self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick of Davis who cleverly named it "Miss Bee Haven." The garden virtually blooms with art--from a native bee mural on the garden shed to colorful ceramic-mosaic planters. The art is primarily the work of students in UC Davis Distinguished Professor (now emerita) Diane Ullman's classes, "Entomology 1: Art, Science and the World of Insects," and the UC Davis Art-Science Fusion Program, co-founded and co-directed by Ullman and Billick. Faculty, staff and community members also participated in the various art projects under the Ullman-Billick umbrella.
The Haven thrives with more than 200 native plants, appreciated by the honey bees, native bees, syrphid flies, butterflies and other pollinators. Native bees? UC Davis Distinguished Emeritus Professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), detected and identified more than 80 different bee species in the garden. California alone is home to some 1600 native bee species.
The UC Davis Bee Haven is directed by bee scientist Elina Niño, professor of Extension, apiculture, and a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty. She founded and directs the Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program.
The journaling class, billed as a "Relaxed Morning Among the Bees and Blooms," was just that.
If you're interested in the next journaling session, or want to book a group tour, or subscribe to The Haven's newsletter? Contact the UC Davis Bee Haven at beehaven@ucdavis.edu.
Cover image: Tatiana Peshevska of Davis journaling in the UC Davis Bee Haven.