You probably know there are bees. You may not know there are over 500 kinds of them right here in western NC. John Kotab does.

A bee hotel sounds like a charming yard decoration, and it is! It’s also one of the most practical things you can put in a garden if you care about what grows in it. John is here to show you how to build one from scratch, and to explain exactly why it matters.

This hands-on workshop covers two distinct construction methods so you leave with a finished bee hotel, not just notes. You will get into the lifecycle of native bees, how they interact with hollow and pithy-stemmed perennials, and which plants they depend on to survive and reproduce.

What You’ll Cover:

Native Bee Diversity: Who is actually living in your garden right now, and what kind of habitat they are searching for
Construction Methods: Two approaches to building a bee hotel, built together in class, so you go home with a completed structure and the blueprints to build more
Lifecycle and Behavior: How native bees reproduce, raise young, and rely on specific plant structures at each stage of life
Plant Relationships: The connection between native bees and the hollow or pithy-stemmed perennials that make up their nesting world
Ongoing Care: How to clean and maintain your hotel so it stays a place bees want to return to, season after season
You will leave with a finished bee hotel, a seed packet carrying thousands of seeds to grow a bee-friendly garden at home, a list of workshop-cited resources on native bee biology, and a clear picture of how one small structure can shift the health of your whole yard.

This one is a good fit for gardeners, conservationists, and anyone who has noticed fewer pollinators than there used to be and wants to do something about it.