A Closer Look at Native Bees: Krystle Hickman Comes to Vancouver for Pollinator Festival Week
We’re excited to welcome Krystle Hickman to Vancouver as part of our 2027 Pollinator Festival week celebration! Vancouver Bee Project is partnering with Science on Tap to host “The A-BEE-Cs of Native Bees” on Wednesday, June 23, 2027, from 7–8:30 p.m. at the Kiggins Theatre. It’s a chance to spend an evening exploring native bees through science, storytelling, and extraordinary photography.
Krystle is an award-winning conservation photographer, author, and National Geographic Explorer whose work brings the often-overlooked lives of native bees into focus. Her book, The ABC’s of California’s Native Bees, introduces readers to the diversity of these remarkable pollinators. Through her photography and field observations, she invites people to slow down, look closely, and discover more about the natural world around them.
Her BeeSip website offers a glimpse into that world, documenting bees visiting flowers, building nests, and going about their lives in remarkable detail. For anyone who enjoys gardening, photography, or simply noticing the small creatures around us, her work offers plenty of reasons to keep looking.
During her Vancouver talk, Krystle will explore native bee diversity, behavior, and ecological roles, including how native bees differ from honey bees. She’ll also introduce how bees are classified and how researchers and photographers use visible features and field observations to help identify them.
At Vancouver Bee Project, connecting people with science is central to our work. We’re especially excited about opportunities like this one, where photography and storytelling can make a complex subject approachable and spark questions that continue long after the evening ends. Whether you’re already watching bees in your garden or just beginning to get curious, we hope you’ll join us.
Krystle’s talk is a special Wednesday evening event during our festival week celebration. She will not be speaking at the Pollinator Festival on Saturday, June 26, 2027. Mark your calendar for both dates!
General admission is listed at $25. Science on Tap also offers reduced-price tickets by request for those experiencing financial hardship. Visit the event page for tickets and details.
Event details and tickets: The A-BEE-Cs of Native Bees
Thank you to Science on Tap for partnering with us to bring Krystle to Vancouver. We can’t wait to celebrate pollinators with you!