Bettendorf Announces New Affiliation with Bee City USA®

May 22, 2026 - The City of Bettendorf is excited to announce that it has "bee"come a Bee City USA®, joining many other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.

In 2025, the Bettendorf Conservation Committee, partners of the Bettendorf Parks & Recreation Department and endorsed by the City of Bettendorf, applied for the Bee City USA® affiliation, which is an initiative of a nonprofit organization called Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

To be certified as an affiliate, communities need to provide pollinators with a healthy habitat, rich in a variety of plants and free of insecticides. The Bettendorf Conservation Committee, with the help of the Bettendorf Parks Maintenance Division, has accomplished this at the following locations:

"Our native flower bed at McManus Park turned an old, outdated area into an all-native flower bed with plenty of plant varieties to attract all kinds of bees," said Award-Winning Parks Maintenance Supervisor and Host of "The Manfull Files" Jason Manfull. "This is our pilot project for Bee City USA®. A once underutilized, overgrown bed will soon be flourishing with the buzz of bees and other pollinators!"

"The landscape bed at Tyler Hurd Field in Ed Scheck Park has been redesigned with all native plantings and will be done very soon," said Manfull. "Maggie Penry-Cole, our Horticulture Technician, created the design over the winter months, and we purchased nearly all the plant materials from local nurseries."

"Several years ago, we were made aware of the sighting of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee in Devils Glen Park," said Manfull. "The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee is an endangered species of bee right here in our parks. When we were renovating the playground at the park, we created a native garden in the old play site. Instead of just grassing the spot over, we constructed a 6,000-square-foot flower bed with the hope of attracting more Rusty Patched Bumble Bees and enhancing the population. This project was done by Parks Maintenance Staff, the Bettendorf Conservation Committee, Bettendorf High School Environmental Science Classes, and the Wild Ones, a local organization who emphasize the importance of native plants in our environment."

The City of Bettendorf is only the third city in Iowa to be designated a Bee City USA®. Bettendorf has also been a Tree City USA Community through the Arbor Day Foundation for 30 years.

To learn more about the Bettendorf Conservation Committee and its Bee City USA® affiliation, visit the Bee City webpage and be sure to tune into this week's Mayor's Message, which is posted every Friday on the City website, the City of Bettendorf's YouTube Channel, and Facebook Page.