08/31/2026
TenKate Hill Maple is participating in a study focused on forest bees. I wanted to pass this along to our customers!
Volunteer opportunity: Join The Xerces Society to help with Research on Native Forest Bees. September 10th at 10:00 AM, RSVP for meeting place.
We wanted to reach out about an exciting opportunity to volunteer with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Dr. Kass Urban-Mead, and Prof. Katie Turo's lab at Fordham University. They are leading a five-year research project focused on native forest bees. Study sites are spread throughout the northeast, including about half in our region here in the Finger Lakes. TenKate Hill Maple is one of the research sites! Xerces is working with Amanda's Native Nursery, which is growing over 2,000 spring-blooming native plants for establishing at local study sites.
This past spring, the research team surveyed native bees at all of the sites, and are using molecular methods to identify the pollen the bees collected. This allows them to understand the plants the bees were using before restoration began. Then, starting in fall 2026, half of the study sites will be enhanced with local ecotype native plants. Over the next five years, researchers will track how the new plantings establish, how they affect native bee populations and their pollen choices in these forests between restored vs. unrestored sites.
Volunteers are invited and welcome to help with sorting the bulk plant order after pickup, preparation of plant labels, and for planting days themselves! If you’re interested, please send a message directly to Kass ([email protected]) to get on her list, or keep an eye out for dates going forward.
