A presentation of the Naturally Better Landscaping Speaker Series
Cadby Theatre • Humanities Building at Chesapeake College • Wye Mills, MD 21679
Saturday, August 9, 2025 • 1–3 pm
Discover the fascinating world of native bees with award-winning author and pollinator expert Heather Holm.
Learn how specialist bees rely on specific native plants, and explore the intricate connections between pollinators and their habitats, including the shared threats they face from habitat loss and climate change.
This presentation takes place at the Cadby Theatre in the Humanities Building at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, MD. It is free and open to all. Advance registration is highly recommended.
About Heather
Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (2018 and 2022 respectively). She is the founder and chair of Minnesota Native Bees, an online field guide illustrating the native bees of Minnesota and beyond. Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and many local publications. Heather is also an accomplished photographer and her pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications.
Heather serves on the boards of the following non-profits: Friends of Cullen Nature Preserve and Bird Sanctuary, Friends of Minnetonka Parks, and the new Minnesota Oak Savanna Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts. In her spare time, she is an active community supporter, writing grants, and coordinating and participating in volunteer ecological landscape restoration projects of fire-dependent ecosystems. The latest project is a 13-acre oak savanna restoration that will provide thriving habitat for pollinators, birds, mammals, and passive, nature-based opportunities for people.
Facebook: PollinatorsNativePlants
Instagram: beesnativeplants
YouTube: @NativeBeesWasps
iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/723565
Heather's Photography: www.pollinatorphotos.com
Heather's Website: www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com
Bee photograph by Heather Holm.
Naturally Better Landscaping Speaker Series
In 2023, 2024, and 2025, Adkins Arboretum received funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) to provide outreach and education to local Homeowner Associations (HOAs) and the general public, supporting environmentally friendly landscaping practices.
This speaker series was developed as part of the Naturally Better Landscaping project, in partnership with ShoreRivers, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Pickering Creek, and Phillips Wharf, and is offered free of charge, thanks to funding from CBT and Queen Anne’s County. It is open to the general public. Not all presentations will be held at Adkins Arboretum.
