Residents

Bee City USA - Clarke County

The Clarke County Board of Supervisors’ unanimously voted on October 21st, 2025 to become a Bee City USA® Affiliate County, joining many other communities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators. The Board of Supervisor’s action is the culmination of months of effort by Laura Dabinett, Bee City Chair, Barbara Bosserman, Bee City Vice Chair, Chris Boies, County Administrator, and Lorien Lemmon, Conservation Planner to accomplish this affiliation.

Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free of insecticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honeybees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.

Clarke County has designated the “Clarke Bee Team” as the facilitating committee for the county’s efforts to engage the community in promoting pollinator conservation by:

  • Hosting educational events, pollinator habitat plantings, and restorations to showcase Clarke County’s commitment to raising awareness and expanding pollinator health
  • Developing a program to create or expand pollinator-friendly habitat on public land
  • Creating an integrated pest management (IPM) plan designed to prevent pest problems, reduce pesticide use, and expand the use of non-chemical pest management methods on properties managed by Clarke County
  • Establishing a policy in the Clarke County Comprehensive Plan to commit to the Bee City USA designation and by applying for annual renewal of Clarke County’s Bee City USA designation

Stay in touch with the Clarke Bee Team by following us on Facebook or by joining the pollinator email list at clarkebeeteam@gmail.com. 

The Clarke Bee Team Members:

Laura Dabinett, Chair

Barbara Bosserman, Vice Chair

Cindy Potter, Secretary

Christi McMullen, Treasurer

Kelli Patterson, Public Relations

 

Lorien Lemmon, Conservation Planner and County Liaison

(540) 955-5134

llemmon@clarkecounty.gov