Start your own Native Bee Society – We are happy to help!

Wa Bee Society officers and board of directors.

Boy wearing an animal shirt plays with insect eye lens toys.

Bee Society people volunteer at Prairie Appreciation Week, sharing information about native bees.

As part of their tour at Fort Flagler State Park, this group got to hold and release bees.

One of our board members went to talk to children at a school .

Children from school visited Beacon Food Forest to learn about native bees.

Fort Flagler state Park hosts a tour group interested in native bees.

WA Native Bee Society hosted a booth at the Vancouver Bee Project's 2nd Annual Pollinator Festival.

A Pollinator Sign tells people a garden has native plants for feeding bees & butterflies.

The Washington Native Bee Society organizes volunteers to host information tables, conduct field trips, give in-house presentations for groups or via Zoom, assist on tours, participate in Pollinator Festivals, and educate about the significance of creating habitat for native bees.

Back in 2020, we started a native bee society here in Washington State, and the progress we have made for our native bees has exceeded our expectations. Based on what we have learned, we're eager to help support the establishment of native bee societies in other states such as yours.

Together, we can create a thriving network of native bee organizations across the country.

In under four years we've made significant strides in supporting the native bees of Washington state:

• Catalyst for Bee Atlas: Initiated establishment of Washington State’s Bee Atlas and remain active on the steering committee.

• Legislative Success: Helped pass state legislation to increase pollinator habitat creation and restoration by local governments and private developers.

• Collaborative Efforts: Working with state agencies like Washington Dept. of Transportation, Washington Dept. of Agriculture, and the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to organize workshops and conferences on pollinator habitat development and maintenance.

• Community Bridges: Found common ground with backyard honey bee keepers to address our shared need for creating more pollinator habitat.

• Innovative Funding: Actively working to establish a personalized license plate for pollinators to generate funds for bee research and pollinator habitat.

• Research-Driven Initiatives: In conjunction with the WA Dept. of Agriculture, we are analyzing pollen from a variety of bee genera collected by our state Bee Atlas. The pollen analysis window covers the full field season (early spring thru fall) looking at common genera and organized at the Ecoregion Level 3.  This information will be used to work with nurseries and seed producers to identify easy to cultivate species for large scale production in future pollinator habitat plantings.

We have also set up a WaNBS iNaturalist project to detect all bee pictures uploaded within our state.

We are eager to help you get a running start in your state. Here's what we have to share, gratis:

• Draft Bylaws and IRS Paperwork: Example documents for 501c3 nonprofit status.

• Legislative Examples from Washington State:

  • Formation of a state-level pollinator health task force.

  • Setting expectations for local governments and the private sector to restore at least 25% of disturbed land after construction to pollinator habitat.

  • Establishing a personalized license plate for pollinators including allocation of the generated funds (bee research, habitat).

• Educational Materials: Native bee posters and outreach resources.

• Statewide Zoom Meetings: Inclusive membership meetings (open to the public) featuring:

  • The first 30 minutes dedicated to native bee identification using photos submitted by bee society members and interested participants.

  • Followed by a formal presentation on various aspects of native bees/pollination ecology.

We are committed to collaborating and sharing our successful strategies to help create a native bee society in your state—and learn from you.

David Jennings, President/Chair

WA Native Bee Society

PO Box 45271

Seattle WA. 98145

pnwnativebees@gmail.com

https://www.wanativebeesociety.org/