“Selecting Native Trees and Shrubs that Support Birds and Pollinators”: Join renowned author and pollinator activist Heather Holm for this free presentation! Learn about the habitat and food requirements of birds and pollinators, and what native trees and shrubs provide these resources.

Heather had an avid interest in natural history and botany at a young age, and spent much of her childhood exploring the woodlands and prairie on the family property, established by her great great grandfather in the 1850s. She studied horticulture and biology at the University of Guelph and later web programming and digital design at Seneca College, Canada.

Heather is an award-winning author and nationally sought-after speaker spending much of her time passionately educating audiences about the fascinating world of native bees and the native plants that support them. Her first book, Pollinators of Native Plants, published in 2014, helped establish her as a knowledgeable resource on the subject of the interactions between native bees and native plants. Her latest book, Bees, published in 2017, has won four book awards.

Heather currently lives in Minnesota with her husband. She is a self-employed author, designer, and publisher. For the past few years, she has been assisting with native bee research projects. The most recent research project was a two-year study to determine the types of native bees present in cultivated blueberry farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The study included developing customized plans to enhance and expand both forage plants and nesting sites for bees within the farms.

In her spare time, she is an active community supporter, writing grants and coordinating neighborhood volunteer landscape restoration projects. Currently, Heather is working on three projects with volunteers, restoring approximately ten acres of city-owned land in her neighborhood for pollinators and people.