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Carson City's Bee City USA update: planting list, volunteer projects and a June Pollinator Palooza
Summary
Open Space staff updated the committee on Carson City's Bee City USA (No. 76) program, highlighting a pollinator-friendly plant list required in new developments, outreach events and partnerships that support pollinator habitat across city-managed lands.
Carson City's Bee City USA steering committee told the Open Space Advisory Committee that a mix of planting projects, education and developer requirements are expanding pollinator habitat across the city.
Lindsay Boyer, an open-space staff member and Bee City volunteer, said Carson City became a Bee City in 2018 and now requires developers to select 50% of their landscaping palette from a locally curated pollinator-friendly plant list. "We were the very first Bee City in Nevada and the 76th in the nation," Boyer said. The list is publicly available and contains more than 200 locally adapted species the city recommends for parks, yards and new developments.
Boyer described habitat projects already in place on open-space and parkland, including native-plant beds at Empire Ranch trailhead, restoration at Buzzy's Ranch trail and a library display during National Pollinator Month in June. She cited two partnerships as notable: a collaboration with the Sagebrush in Prisons program, which supplied native pollinator seedlings grown by correctional center residents, and ongoing coordination with the Great Basin Beekeepers of Nevada.
"The best thing that you can do to protect our pollinators is to create habitat," Boyer told the committee, noting that the program emphasizes diverse flowering plants, staggered bloom times, reduced pesticide impacts and public education.
Committee members asked about hives on open space. Boyer said beehives have been located on open space in places with low public use, and that the city previously hosted hives at Buzzy's Ranch. She also said the Bee City program works with local beekeepers and groups to connect volunteers and property stewards with trained apiarists.
The Bee City committee highlighted planned events for June, including the Pollinator Palooza (a festival and parade) and other outreach at the greenhouse and library. Boyer said the steering committee seeks volunteers and community partners to help expand habitat projects, signage and school outreach.
Ending: staff asked the public and committee members to consult the online plant list and consider volunteering for June activities.
