Past Events
Photo: Skipper butterfly by Joe Adams.
Photo: Skipper butterfly by Joe Adams.
Join Reems Creek Nursery for a day of education, music, photo ops, good food, and more! Pollinator habitat workshop starts at 10:00.
Pack up the kiddos and visit the Bee City USA - Asheville booth to learn more about the amazing pollinators that make our food possible. We’ll have a Scavenger Hunt for kids (and kids at heart) to see how many pollinator-dependent foods they can spot at the market.
You don’t have to travel to other continents to find amazing creatures— they could be right in your backyard! They are just small. This class is to help you learn to observe and identify pollinators in your garden or wherever plants are blooming.
You don’t have to travel to other continents to find amazing creatures— they could be right in your backyard! They are just small. This class is to help you learn to observe and identify pollinators in your garden or wherever plants are blooming.
Learn about pollinator conservation on a family-friendly no-drop group ride along the Asheville Butterfly Trail. The Trail took flight in the summer of 2024, just in time for Hurricane Helene to test its wings! Five Trail stations have been installed throughout Buncombe County with at least five more planned. At each of the three stations we visit, we will stop to learn about the butterfly on display and have the opportunity to take photos with the giant wings.
Our plants in the Blue Ridge are pollinated by more insects than just Honey Bees. In this course, we will look at common and some less obvious pollinators of the region and discuss their life cycles, the benefits they provide the world, and how to attract them. We will also go outside to look for pollinators doing their work around the Arboretum grounds.
What? A Pollinator Safari at a golf course? That’s right, you don’t have to go all the way to Africa to see exotic animals! Join Florrie Funk to get to know as many pollinators as possible in the pollinator garden during the Golf Course’s annual Audubon International Bioblitz. This event is one of the ways the Course is meeting its commitment to the Wildlife/Habitat Management and Education/Outreach requirements for its Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Certification.
Would you like to help with pollinator conservation by surveying for bumble bees? Bumble bees are an important indicator of overall pollinator health. This class will provide an overview of the Southeast Bumble Bee Atlas program, present the insightful data gathered by volunteers over its first two years, and train participants on the survey techniques used so you can volunteer to gather bumble bee diversity and abundance data in 2026.
Tiny, inconspicuous and under-appreciated species hold our world together. Sharon Selvaggio with the Xerces Society will discuss why pesticides in homes, gardens, agriculture and natural areas are a leading threat to bees, butterflies, and other insects. But there is much to be hopeful about! She’ll also share inspiring examples and practical resources for those ready to take action in their gardens, neighborhoods, towns, campuses, and states.
This class provides an overview of the rich diversity of our planet’s 21,000 species of bees—the most important pollinators in the temperate world.
This April, immerse yourself in the world of pollinators at the Swannanoa Pollinator Festival! This fun, hands-on event celebrates the amazing (and often overlooked) creatures that make life possible. Adults and kids alike are invited to discover interactive stations and unlock a newfound curiosity for the tiny creatures that keep our world blooming!
Female mosquitos are human bloodsuckers and vectors for diseases! But insecticides and equipment that kill adult mosquitoes also kill beneficial insects. Learn ways to keep mosquito populations in check without harming pollinators.
In this informal, hands-on introduction to common grasses, Nancy will highlight differences between cool and warm season grasses, go through some dry samples and talk about the habitats where they are commonly found and which ones work well for landscaping.
Pollinator gardens sometimes get a bad rap for being “too messy” or “unattractive.” This class explores landscaping tricks that will satisfy even the strictest Homeowners Association guidelines while welcoming a wide variety of pollinators, and persuading neighbors to join in the fun.
For the 7th year, Bee City USA-Asheville is convening a gathering of pollinator, native plant, and biodiversity enthusiasts to celebrate current pollinator conservation efforts to inspire future opportunities for collaboration.
Exotic invasive plants can quickly supplant the native plants our pollinators co-evolved with because they often arrive here without the predators that kept them in check back home. Learning the best techniques for removing the worst actors, without harming pollinators in the process, can be tricky, but not impossible.
Ever heard the expression, “There’s someone out there for everyone?” Co-evolution took care of that for plants and their pollinators over millions of years. That’s why flowers come in all shapes, sizes and colors and so do their pollinators!
Those crafty bees have evolved to nest in creative ways depending on their species. Guess where mining bees nest? How about carpenter bees? What about squash bees? This class gives an overview of the variety of bee nests and provides pointers for selecting the best cavity nesting bee houses, just in time for those early spring mason bees.
We like the leaves for shade and fall color, but they seem to become our dreaded enemy once they fall to the ground. If you want pollinators in the spring, keeping those leaves in your yard is essential. And if you want leaves, you better plant some trees—but which ones? This class teaches the role tree leaves (and dead plant stems) play in the lives of pollinators year-round and how to have a tidy yard–with lots of fallen leaves!
Join the Asheville Botanical Garden’s garden manager, Sarah Coury, to learn about ethical seed collection practices, and seed cleaning, storage, and propagation tips.
October is a busy time for monarch butterflies as they undergo their fall migration from Eastern North America to Mexico. Western North Carolina is a pit stop for some of these travelers. Celebrate these colorful creatures with an amazing collection of activities and events. Blue Ridge Naturalist instructor, Dan Lazar, is scheduled to speak.
Visit the Blue Ridge Community College Horticulture Program’s Fall Plant Sale being held as part of Farm City Day at Jackson Park. Mums, fall asters, violas, pansies, mixed fall planters, perennials, shrubs, trees and succulents are perfect for gift giving. Many natives to support pollinators will also be available, including several hard-to-find species.
Celebrate the monarch butterfly during its migration and bring attention to the species’ declining numbers. Gorges State Park lies along the monarch’s migratory route. The butterflies can be seen in late September each year flying over the park’s visitor center on their way south to the high-elevation fir forests of Mexico’s Neovolcanic Mountains, where they overwinter until early spring.
Join Patchwork Meadows in Black Mountain for peak monarch migration viewings.
Shop for all your favorite perennials, shrubs, trees and so much more at Bullington’s annual fall plant sale.
Join Patchwork Meadows in Black Mountain for peak monarch migration viewings.
Live music, education activities celebrating our pollinators, native plants, and much more!
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Day with us at the Hendersonville Farmers Market. From the upbeat rhythms to the delicious baked goods, connect, celebrate, and share in the joy of heritage and community spirit! Visit the Milkweed Meadows Farm tent to view Monarch life cycle educational displays, purchase native milkweeds + other pollinator-friendly plants, and participate in the Symbolic Monarch Migration art activity for kids.
Join Patchwork Meadows in Black Mountain for peak monarch migration viewings.
Grab your binoculars because it’s migration celebration time! Our annual feathered frenzy is back, and you’re invited to join the fun. Celebrate the magic of fall bird and butterfly migration with a full day of family-friendly activities, live raptor demonstrations, beginner bird walks, a hawk watch, and so much more. Whether you’re a seasoned birder or just bird-curious, this is our biggest birding event of the year and you won’t want to miss it!
