Helping the UC Davis Honey Bee Haven During UC Davis Give Day

(Donate here)

The UC Davis Bee Haven, maintained by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is one of the beneficiaries of the UC Davis Give Day, now underway through 4:59 p.m., Saturday, Apri1 12. This is the ninth annual philanthropic event coinciding with the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day.

The Haven, a half-acre pollinator and demonstration installed in the fall of 2009 next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, has no primary funding. It needs a new irrigation system, new plants, and QR codes that allow the visitors to access information, according to Bee Haven director Elina Lastro Niño, professor of Cooperative Extension-Apiculture and based with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT).  

Niño also hopes to reinstate the children's Pollination Education Program in which elementary school children “come to learn about the bees.” A hands-on activity includes using a bee vacuum device to scoop up the bees and examine them before releasing them. (See https://tinyurl.com/2s42ydks)

The online fundraising drive, with matching challenge donations (Cygnet Foundation), is now underway at this website. The garden is the former Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, as noted on the form.

In a recent presentation to the Vacaville Museum Guild, Niño said that "bee losses nationwide are particularly bad this year. This past winter the nation's beekeepers lost 1.1 million bee colonies. Since 2006, beekeepers have reported average annual colony losses of up to, and in some cases above 50 percent, threatening the stability of our food supply."

One of the ways that folks can help the bees is to donate to the UC Davis Honey Bee Haven, a pollinator and demonstration garden. Niño's "bee" team includes Samantha "Sam" Murray,  garden coordinator and Joe Tauzer, facilities manager, Laidlaw Research Facility.

Niño,  the founder-director of the California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP). says the honey bee population is declining due to parasites, pesticides, poor nutrition, habitat loss, climate change (including wildfires and the resulting air pollution), diseases, and predators, including the bears that attack the hives to feast on bee brood and honey.

Most of the nation's bees were in California pollinating the state's  1.3 million acres of almonds, Niño said. “Each acre needs two colonies per hive so that's 2.8 to 3 million colonies needed for almond pollination.”

“Honey bees are rented out to more than 20 crops in  California including  almond, alfalfa seed, cherries, melons, prunes, plum, strawberries, sunflowers, vegetable seeds,” Niño added.

'Every Gift Makes a Difference'

Cari Dubois-Wright, director of development, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, says bees play a vital role in our food system, pollinating about one-third of the food we eat—including most fruits, nuts, and vegetables essential to our daily nutrition. "Every gift makes a difference." Folks can join the Cygnet Foundation in supporting the UC Davis Bee Haven "and help protect these essential pollinators for future generations."

History of the Garden

The Bee Haven came to "bee" after Häagen-Dazs executives read an ENT research news story by Kathy Keatley Garvey and telephoned her. The story dealt with the plight of honey bees and the work of UC Davis bee-breeder geneticist Susan Cobey "to build a better bee." Cobey then managed the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.

A major donation followed to (1) fund a unique pollinator and demonstration garden and (2) to fund a doctoral fellowship (awarded to Michele Flenniken of UC Berkeley, now an associate professor at Montana State University). The Sausalito team of landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki won the national competition to design the garden. 

The Sausalito team's design zeroed in on sustainability and visitor experience. The four interconnected gardens, “Honeycomb Hideout,” “Nectar Nook,” “Pollinator Patch” and “My Backyard” formed the physical and interpretive framework for the design.  A series of trails connected the gardens. Trellises defined the entry ways and reinforced the passage to the next space. The design also included a “Learning Center” building and paths labeled “Orchard Alley,” “Save the Bee Sanctuary,” “Round Dance Circle” and “Waggle Dance Way.”

Under the direction of then department chair Lynn Kimsey (now UC Davis distinguished professor emerita), the garden sprang to life in the fall of 2009 and was initially named the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven for its  primary donor.  In 2010, a year after its installation, the Sacramento Bee named The Haven as one of the top 10  public garden destinations in the region.

"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.”

A Living Laboratory

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.

UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019)  monitored the garden for bees, and detected more than 80 species.

Among those who played a key role in the founding and "look" of the garden: David Fujino, executive director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture; founding manager Missy Borel Gable (now director of the California Master Gardener program); Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1944-2022); and the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, co-founded and co-directed by ENT entomology professor/artist Diane Ullman (now a UC Davis distinguished professor emerita); and self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick. The art in the garden is the work of their students, ranging from those in the Ullman-Billick entomology class to community residents. 

Billick sculpted the ceramic-mosaic “Miss Bee Haven,” a six-foot-worker bee that anchors The Haven.  Students and area residents crafted the bee-motif ceramic tiles that line a bench, which also includes the names of major donors. A mural featuring native bees graces the garden shed. It was a project of an entomology class, "Art, Science and the World of Insects," taught by Ullman and Billick. Doctoral candidate Sarah Dalrymple,  graphics project coordinator and teaching assistant, guided the students in the design, creation and installation of the panels.

In 2012, Davis high school student Derek Tully  planned, organized and built a state-of-the-art fence around the garden as part of his Eagle Scout project.

The garden has had only two managers since 2009:  Missy Borel Gable (2009-2013), and Christine Casey (2013-2024), a UC Davis doctoral alumna and now retiree.  

On List of Top 10 Public Gardens

A public opening celebration took place Sept. 11, 2010. That same year, 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.” 

Year-around donations to the Haven can be mailed to:

UC Davis, Advancement Services
Attn: Debbie Norden
202 Cousteau Place, Ste 185 
Davis, CA 95618

Checks should be made out to UC Regents, and on the memo line, write “Deposit into 3-GRDNBEE.” For more information, contact Cari DuBois-Wright at caduboiswright@ucdavis.edu.

Also, Beekeeper's Naturals, founded in 2014 and based in Toronto, Canada, has placed its Earth Month Bundle on sale, and all proceeds go toward UC Davis Honey Bee Research. Click the link to view. The Earth Month Bundle includes bee pollen, propolis throat spray, nasal spray, superfood honey, and a "Save the Bees" trucker hat.

"In celebration of Earth Day, we’ve curated a limited-edition bundle featuring our favorite springtime essentials—plus our iconic Save the Bees trucker hat," a spokesperson said. "We're donating 100% of proceeds to the UC Davis Honeybee Research Facility to support pollinator protection programs. Feel good, look good, do good—save 10% and help save the bees." 

"Beekeeper's Naturals is a company that provides natural products made from the power of bees. They offer a wide range of products, from supplements to skincare, and are dedicated to revolutionizing medicine cabinets through the power of bees."--Beekeeper's Naturals.