Learn & Connect
Every season offers plenty to explore and ways to get involved in building our pollinator-friendly community:
Bee The Buzz - support your neighbors in building nodes along Hasting's pathway.
Become a Power Pollinator - raise awareness, connect with others and lobby for better legislation for our pollinators.
Adopt a Public Space - spend time outdoors with family or colleagues while learning about and caring for nature by signing up with Adopt-a-Spot.
For Teachers and Group Leaders
Pollinator Partnership's learning center has a series of educational brochures to help groups learn about pollinators. The Bee Smart School Garden Kit is specifically designed for use by teachers in the classroom setting.
See also Xerces Society's Education Resources for learning videos, scouting exercises, monarch curricula, and crafts.
Get to Know Your Pollinators
All kinds of insects - and some animals - pollinate plants. Here's a list from USFS: ants, bees, wasps, bats, beetles, birds, flies, butterflies, moths, and sloths. Read more here:
Pollinator fact sheet - US Forest Service
US Fish & Wildlife Endangered Bee Identification Guide
Bumblebees of the Eastern United States
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Series on Bees and Native Pollinators
Xerces Society: Where Do Pollinators Go In Winter?
PBS American Spring Live: That's Not a Bee! Unusual Pollinators
Working the Night Shift - Bats Play an Important Role in Pollinating Crops - (tho mostly not in NYS, where they help keep insects in balance)
More on bats from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History
Online Learning Series & Videos
Bees and Biodiversity with our own Melissa Reavis! Learn about Best Bees' research and business model and Melissa's work with Hollander Designs creating bee- and pollinator-friendly gardens.
Bedford's Healthy Yards: Resources include "How to" videos as well as online learning events for home gardeners.
Westchester Pollinators: Welcome to My Woodland Garden
Gardening with Native Plants: Learn From our Mistakes -- and our Successes!
Native Gardening Books
Pollinator Victory Gardens by Kim Eirman
Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Doug Tallamy
Park's Success with Seeds by Anne Reilly
The Small Garden by C.E. Lucas Phillips
The Practical Gardening Encyclopedia by Roy Hay
The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening by Kim Eirman
The Hidden Life of Trees and The Weather Detective: Rediscovering Nature's Secret Signs by Peter Wohlleben
Books for Kids:
Space Matters by Jacque Lynn Schiller, Illustrated by Lydia Nichols
Tiny Vampires
Watch a recording of our own Melissa Reavis' Zoom talk, Tiny Vampires: Understanding Mosquitoes and Ticks in our Landscape.
Melissa covers the species of mosquitoes and ticks we encounter in Westchester; their roles in our ecosystem; what attracts them to people; and how best to protect yourself and your family. She discusses standard pesticide practices and alternatives. A treasure trove of information! Melissa was hosted by Chet Kerr's Living Classroom project, part of the Rivertowns Pollinator Pathway. For more of Chet's recordings, click here.