Valeriana officinalis, Halictus

Sarah Red-Laird

Bee Habitat in Cyanotype 9

Banyan Farm

Valeriana officinalis, Halictus

Cyanotype, goldleaf paint,

BGO Entomological Collection

Summer, 2022

This flower was harvested from Bayan Farm, a BGO “Regenerative Bee Habitat” project partner.

Banyan Farm is a 20-acre certified organic farm located in Williams, Oregon. They practice sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices, including a polyculture design, crop rotation, and composting, all of which support overall biodiversity.

In addition to growing Ayurvedic herbs for Banyan Botanicals, the leading Ayurvedic lifestyle company in the US, they bring veggies to local farmers markets.

In 2022 the team brought BGO on as a partner to monitor bees on the farm. Our job is to provide Banyan with data on which bees pollinate their herbs, to help them know more about the bee community that Banyan Farm supports, and to help them to become (even more) bee friendly through utilizing fallow areas for regenerative bee pasture.

Learn more about, and support, Banyan Farm here, and Banyan Botanicals here.

In 2022 the valerian, Valeriana officinalis, had been harvested before we arrived. There were just a few flowers standing, and not enough to record a good dataset. However! Those few flowers were abuzz with many bees, bumble bees, Bombus, being among them. Were excited to return in 2023 and learn more about this plant’s pollinators.

Valerian is a power herb that has been utilized since ancient Greece (celebrated by Hippocrates) for it’s use as a sleep aid and anxiety remedy. Visit this page from the Sleep Foundation to learn more about this herb and what modern science has found about this healing herb.