See bees like you’ve never seen them before in the PBS Nature documentary, My Garden of a Thousand Bees. Locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn set out to record all the bee species in his tiny urban garden in Bristol, England. Filming with one-of-a-kind lenses he forged at his kitchen table, he catalogues more than 60 different species, from Britain’s largest bumblebees to scissor bees the size of mosquitoes. Over long months, Dohrn observes how differences in behavior set different species apart. He eventually gets so close to the bees he can identify individuals by sight, documenting life at their level as we have never seen it before.

Penn Yan Public Library is pleased to offer this event as part of the nationwide #PlantWildflowers campaign that highlights the critical role bees and other pollinators play in healthy ecosystems. In support of the film, My Garden of a Thousand Bees, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and PBS Nature launched the #PlantWildflowers campaign to encourage communities across the U.S. to better understand the importance of native bees and other pollinators and to create new pollinator habitats where pollinators can thrive.

Folks who attend the screening will go home with a free packet of native wildflower seeds to plant in a backyard, outdoor flowerpot, or community park. Planting as little as one square foot of wildflowers can make a big difference.