Buzzing with Life: Understanding Bees and Protecting Our Pollinators
What would our world be like without the beauty of bees?
Your Southeast Pinal County Master Gardeners are pleased to invite you to our Community Education Presentation on Wednesday, March 19, at noon at SaddleBrooke Ranch Sol Ballroom, 31143 S. Amenity Drive, Oracle, AZ 85623. The topic this month is “Buzzing with Life: Understanding Bees and Protecting Our Pollinators.” What would our world be like without the beauty of bees? Native bees are a hidden treasure, from alpine meadows in the national forests of the Rocky Mountains to the Sonoran Desert in the Coronado National Forest in Arizona. Native bees come in a wide array of sizes, shapes, and colors, yet they remain ignored or unknown by most of us. Bees provide an invaluable ecosystem service and pollination to 80 percent of flowering plants.
Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of bees! We’ll explore their intricate biology, essential role in pollination, and the current challenges they face. Learn about their complex social structures and remarkable communication methods. What are the best plants to attract and support pollinators in your own garden? Our speaker Anne LeSenne will help you discover practical tips on how to create a bee-friendly environment and the alarming decline of bee populations and the impacts of climate change on these vital insects.
Speaker Anne LeSenne, MS, is a Master Beekeeper and Board-Certified Master Arborist. She is a Pinal County Assistant Agent in the Horticulture Department at the University of Arizona. She will have honey from the bees in Maricopa for sale for $15 each for those interested (cash only).
We hope you’ll BEE there!
Community Education Presentation April 2
Your Southeast Pinal County Master Gardeners are pleased to invite you to our Community Education Presentation on Wednesday, April 2, at 1 p.m. at SaddleBrooke Ranch Sol Ballroom, 31143 S. Amenity Drive, Oracle, AZ 85623. The topic this month is “Lessons Learned to Create a Beautiful, Resilient Garden.”
Our speaker Larry Lynam will discuss the lessons he learned as he prepared his Tucson home garden that was featured on the Pima County Master Gardeners Home Garden Tour. After eight months of intensive gardening and landscape preparation for the April tour, he and his partner hosted more than 1,200 guests viewing their home garden.
Larry learned a lot as he prepared his yard. He will share the best practices developed or vetted by the University of Arizona agricultural and climate research that he has incorporated in his own gardens to help make them more resilient and resistant to our changing desert climate. He wants participants to leave the session with ideas for helping to create an efficient, attractive, and inviting landscape that brings year-round enjoyment. Participants will learn ideas about how to make a garden that is more satisfying and less of a frustrating chore.
After a 30-plus-year career as an infectious diseases microbiologist, Larry left the biopharmaceutical industry and established a freelance science writing and teaching business. His work took him to assignments in 69 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Although a scientist by training, Larry has long been a garden enthusiast. For generations, his family has been involved in farming, plant development, and gardening.
Throughout his travels, Larry always made time to explore the local flora, gardening practices, and gathered ideas he could adopt for his own garden. In 2010 Larry took the University of Florida Broward County Master Gardener Course in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and developed a lush and inviting tropical garden. When he relocated to the Sonoran Desert in 2021, he took the University of Arizona Pima County Master Gardener program in Tucson to learn how to garden properly in our distinctly different and challenging desert climate.
Larry is an active member of the Pima County Master Gardeners, serving on their Plant Clinic team, New Master Gardener Training Program, and the University of Arizona Campus Arboretum tour team. He also volunteers as a docent at Tohono Chul where he is a speaker in their educational and public enrichment programs, as well as a docent rover and tour leader.