In 2025, Bee City Los Alamos, in partnership with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC), continued its role as a Bee City USA affiliate with another energetic and highly positive season of community-driven pollinator conservation across Los Alamos County.
Spring brought several exciting milestones, including the inaugural Native Plant Sale Fundraiser at the Los Alamos Nature Center. The sale received enthusiastic support from the community, with residents purchasing region-appropriate native plants to expand pollinator-friendly landscapes. Bee City Los Alamos also broadened its outreach through a Newsletter Name and Art Contest for school-aged students, along with additional youth-centered activities that strengthened community connections around pollinator conservation.
Throughout the spring and summer months, stewardship efforts focused on the Pollinator Demonstration Garden near the Betty Ehart Senior Center. Volunteers gathered regularly for watering, weeding, mulching, and seasonal maintenance while observing pollinators thriving among the native plants. Mid-summer, Bee City Los Alamos celebrated the garden’s first anniversary, marking a year of growth and shared community effort.
July highlighted one of the year’s most impactful initiatives with the second year of the Backyard Pollinator Garden Project. This program emphasized that even small spaces can make a meaningful difference by encouraging residents to create habitat at home. Bee City Los Alamos helped distribute over 700 native plants to 45 local households, expanding pollinator habitat across the county.
Citizen science remained an important component of Bee City Los Alamos’s work through iNaturalist and the Pollinators of Los Alamos Project. Community members contributed more than 338 observations of pollinators and native plants, helping deepen local understanding of these essential insects
The year concluded with an exciting new partnership with the Los Alamos County Golf Course. A September volunteer sowing event introduced native grasses and pollinator wildflowers in a designated area, demonstrating how pollinator habitat can be integrated into highly visible community landscapes. This collaboration will continue into the 2026 season with the goal of creating pollinator-friendly meadow spaces on golf course property.
As we welcome a new year, Bee City Los Alamos looks ahead with optimism to upcoming outreach and projects, another native plant sale in May, and a third year of the Backyard Pollinator Garden Project. With sustained community support, we will continue to protect and celebrate pollinators throughout Los Alamos County in the year ahead.