7:20-7:30 PM Optional early login

7:30-7:45 PM Actual start at 7:30 PM with announcements

7:45-8:45 PM Meet the Mason Bee, Our Powerful Pollinator

A far more powerful pollinator than the well-known honeybee, our native mason bees make a welcome addition to any yard or garden. This program looks at the nuances of the mason bee life cycle.

Just about everyone knows about the benefits of honeybees as plant pollinators, but we have a native bee that is 50 times more powerful and a fraction of the work to keep near your garden. Meet the Mason Bee! This one-hour educational program will take a closer look at these gentle pollinators, share tips and tricks for attracting them to your yard and provide educational insights into how to maintain a healthy colony.

A naturalist and educator for almost 20 years, Laurel Zoet has worked for the Michigan DNR, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation, and non-profit nature centers. In 2013 she started her freelance nature education business, Nature on the GO! LLC, to travel throughout the state of Michigan teaching about Michigan wildlife and ecology at schools, libraries, scout troops, and senior living facilities. In March of 2017, Laurel and her husband Mitch opened the Wild Birds Unlimited nature shop at the Green Oak Village Place Mall in Brighton, Michigan, as a way to connect people to nature through the hobby of backyard bird feeding. Laurel teaches in-store nature education programs every month while also offering community outreach programs to local garden clubs, churches, libraries, Audubon groups, and more.

When teaching outreach programs, Laurel donates her speaker fee towards funding Wild Bird’s Unlimited “Birds in the Schoolyard” program which provides bird feeding stations, feeders, and bird food for Livingston County teachers to place outside classroom windows.