Bees and other pollinators play a crucial role in nature, pollinating fruits, vegetables, grains, and flowers essential to human agriculture and wild ecosystems. But these important pollinators are facing challenges from habitat and food supply decline, pesticides, and more. Check out these programs at the Moorpark City Library to experience the beauty and biodiversity of native bees and learn how to support these important local pollinators.

Programs and events are brought to you by a generous grant provided by Tangled Bank Studios/PBS Nature #PlantWildflowers initiative.

Film Screening & Discussion

Film: My Garden of a Thousand Bees

See bees as you’ve never seen them before in the PBS Nature documentary, My Garden of a Thousand Bees. Locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn set out to record all the bee species in his tiny urban garden in Bristol, England. Filming with one-of-a-kind lenses he forged at his kitchen table, he catalogs more than 60 different species, from Britain’s largest bumblebees to scissor bees the size of mosquitoes. Over long months, Dohrn observes how differences in behavior set different species apart. He eventually gets so close to the bees he can identify individuals by sight, documenting life at their level as we have never seen it.

The full film is 53 minutes and is available to stream online for free at pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app.

Video Shorts

Watch The Power of Pollinators from Days Edge Productions and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, hosted and narrated by Dr. Samuel Ramsey.

This 6-minute film explores what pollinators are, their services, the astonishing diversity of pollinators (particularly wild bees) found in North America, and how everyone can help protect pollinators in their communities.

In partnership with Seeker, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios also released five short educational videos about native bees, pollinator health, and emerging research. Watch them online here.

Native Wildflower Seeds Giveaway

No matter where they live, everyone can help support wild bees and other pollinators by providing and protecting pollinator habitats through simple actions like planting even one square foot of native wildflowers. Even a few flower pots on a window sill will attract wild pollinators.

Thanks to our community, 500 wildflower seed packets were distributed!

Please visit the Complete Guide to Growing Wildflowers from American Meadows for guidance on the following:

1. Identifying Planting Time
2. Soil Preparations
3. Scattering Your Seeds
4. Compressing Your Seeds
5. Watering
6. Growth & Blooms!

Join Additional Ongoing Community Science Projects

The Seek app allows curious naturalists of all ages to earn badges and participate in challenges to observe organisms with on-screen identification using computer vision for identifications based on data from iNaturalist. Seek is kid-safe and fun for the family. No registration is involved, and no user data is collected.

Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Because these animals are widely distributed, the best way to keep track of them is with a group of volunteers across the country equipped with cameras. With any luck, you might help us to find remnant populations of rare species before they go extinct.

Additional Bee Resources

Download a list of Additional Bee Resources, including information for keeping bees, wildflower planting guides, and more.