| Course Number: | EDU 5710 S25 |
| Instructor: | Sean Beckett, M.S. |
| Location: | In-person & online |
| Dates and Times: | June 27 - Aug 27, 2026. June 27-28, 9 am -5 pm each day, at North Branch Nature Center. |
| Credits: | 1 Graduate Credit |
| Tuition: | Tuition is set by and payable to North Branch Nature Center |
Honey Bees are a multi-billion dollar industry that is responsible for all the honey and almost all the almonds that we eat. While they are ubiquitous across most of the northeast, they are only one of more than 450 species of bees found in New England. Identifying many of these species in the field is notoriously difficult, yet great progress has been made in recent years and with a little practice it is possible to quickly identify most any bee to genus and many to species.
Since the natural history of the 39 genera in the state varies widely, putting a name on the bees around us is an important step in understanding how they are interacting with their environment and how our actions are impacting them – for the better or worse.
This course will include a mix of lecture, microscope work, and field observation – with a focus on field-based identification, natural history, and conservation. We will explore several local sites to find and discuss a wide range of genera and natural history strategies. Throughout the weekend we will touch on ways participants can make meaningful impacts for insect conservation at all scales – from the backyard to the grocery store.
Audience: Naturalists and Educators with a Bachelor's Degree
Course Goals:
Course Objectives:
This one-credit course will take place in-person, in the field and in the classroom, on the Saturday-Sunday listed in the scheduled course meeting time above. Course will begin at North Branch Nature Center and may visit several sites during the weekend to cover course content in the field. Nightly reflections for each of the in-person days will be due immediately following the weekend. A final project will be due by August 27, 2026.
Costs for required readings/resources, if any, may not be included in the course tuition. Please contact NBNC for more information.
Vermont Center for Ecostudies, et al. (2025). An annotated checklist of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Vermont with conservation status and natural history notes. Northeastern Naturalist, 32(27), 1–73.
Wilson, J. S., & Messinger Carril, O. (2022). The bees in your backyard: A guide to North America’s bees (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press.
Sivakoff, F. S., Prajzner, S. P., & Gardiner, M. M. (2023). Habitat management strategies to conserve wild bees in agricultural landscapes. Biological Conservation, 277, 109850.
Levine, J. M., Bascompte, J., Adler, P. B., & Allesina, S. (2022). Effects of pollinator decline on plant biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6, 1066–1074.
Sivakoff, F. S., Prajzner, S. P., & Gardiner, M. M. (2023). Habitat management strategies to conserve wild bees in agricultural landscapes. Biological Conservation, 277, 109850.
Carril & Wilson. 2021. Common Bees of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press.
(802) 229-6206
This course requires registration with North Branch Nature Center (NBNC) first. Please click on the Register Now! link below.