The UC Davis Bee Haven marked a year of growth and community engagement in 2025, according to its annual executive summary. The half-acre demonstration garden, located adjacent to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on the UC Davis campus, is operated by the Department of Entomology and Nematology. It serves as an educational resource for visitors interested in bees, pollinators, and their relationship with plants.
“This year at the UC Davis Bee Haven, the garden blossomed with vibrant growth and renewal, reflected not only in the flourishing landscape but also in the increasing engagement and enthusiasm of the many visitors discovering its rich offerings. Under the dedicated direction of our Garden Coordinator and Bee Haven Team, our haven has thrived horticulturally while becoming a beloved educational destination through strategic planning, devoted maintenance, and a deep commitment to pollinator stewardship,” states the summary.
Established in 2009 under then interim chair Lynn Kimsey—now distinguished professor emerita—the garden remains open daily from dawn to dusk without an admission fee. Its mission is displayed near the entrance: “The Haven is a unique outdoor museum that provides resources for local bee pollinators, inspires and educates visitors to create pollinator habitat gardens, and provides a site for the observation and study of bees and the plants that support them.”
Bee scientist Elina Niño directs The Haven. Niño is a professor of UC Cooperative Extension specializing in apiculture and leads both The Haven team—composed of Samantha Murray (education and garden coordinator), Joe Tauzer (Laidlaw facility manager), Wendy Mather, and Kian Nikzad (co-program managers of CAMBP)—and the California Master Beekeeper Program.
In 2025, several improvements were made to enhance visitor experience. These included repainting the garden shed, installing new picnic tables, revitalizing educational areas for pollination education, expanding produce plantings such as tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and watermelons to demonstrate connections between pollinators and food systems.
“We also expanded our produce plantings by adding tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and watermelons to emphasize the vital connection between pollinator health and food systems. This living demonstration helps visitors understand that pollinators are essential to the food we eat every day,” according to staff.
Art features prominently throughout The Haven. Notable pieces include Miss Bee Haven—a six-foot-long ceramic-mosaic sculpture by Donna Billick—and native bee-themed art created by students from Diane Ullman’s entomology class along with contributions from the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program.
Community outreach remains central to The Haven’s activities; staff regularly lead tours for groups such as those organized by local museums. The public can subscribe to updates or request information via beehaven@ucdavis.edu.
Looking ahead into early 2026, The Haven will participate in UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on February 21—a free event open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.—where Samantha Murray will be among those giving presentations about biodiversity topics relevant to bees.
Even during winter months some pollinators remain active at The Haven; sightings include mountain carpenter bees emerging from bee hotels constructed onsite.
