Bee City Initiative
What is Bee City USA?
Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Bee City provides the framework for communities to conserve native pollinator habitat by educating and involving the local community, improving best management practices, restoring habitat, and by creating new pollinator friendly landscapes. While bee city is focused on improving habitat for native bee species, it also benefits all pollinators including more commonly known ones such as hummingbirds and honeybees.
How is the city doing its part?
The city has always been committed to pollinators through habitat restoration utilizing the Sammamish Steward Program. In 2022 the City made it official by joining the Bee City initiative. Since joining the initiative, we have:
- Updated the integrated pest management plan to include bee gardens and bee friendly language.
- Installed new pollinator gardens at Big Rock Central & Lower Commons Park
- Installed bee city signage promoting Sammamish as a bee city
- Formed a bee city committee dedicated to moving the initiative forward. The committee includes members from the Parks, Recreation, and Facilities team, the Public Works Engineering Team, and volunteer stewards.
How can you help?
- Install a pollinator garden in your own backyard or your school campus (HOA or School restrictions may apply, please contact associated entities before starting)
- Plant container flowers on your balcony for pollinators to visit.
- Volunteer to plant or maintain one of our existing gardens.
- Include a bee education day as part of your k-12 curriculum.
Resources
COMING SOON The city is working on developing special, localized planting guides specific to Sammamish.
In the meantime the Xerces Society has many resources specific to Washington which can provide guidance on how else you can help.
Upcoming Events
