Hearing a queen bee piping is music to her ears. So is the shimmering sound of the harp.

Meet Samantha Murray, the newly selected garden coordinator of the UC Davis Bee Haven, a pollinator and demonstration garden installed in the fall of 2009 by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Although undergoing restoration since last summer, The Haven continues to be open to the public from dawn to dusk. Admission is free.

Murray is a beekeeper who finds great joy in bees, a UC Davis music major who finds great joy in harp performances and a garden coordinator who finds great joy in spreading the importance of bees and other pollinators.

“What I admire most about bees is their remarkable work ethic and the essential role they play as pollinators, supporting ecosystems and agriculture alike,” Murray said. “People can have a kinship with the bees. They can form a kinship by planting such pollinator-friendly plants as lavender, aster, goldenrod and black-eyed Susans.”

Murray, who anticipates receiving her bachelor’s degree next spring, is a member of the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program and a science communicator whose expertise includes establishing and caring for bee-friendly gardens in Sonoma County and engaging in outreach programs.

“Sam’s enthusiasm for bees, her love of teaching and learning, and her commitment to creating bee-uty in the community through stewardship of the Bee Haven is a gift to all of us,” said Wendy Mather, co-program manager of California Master Beekeeper Program. “Sam’s vision of the garden’s potential is inspiring.”

Murray became involved with the UC Davis Bee Haven last summer when she served as a lab technician for Richard Martinez, a graduate student.

“I was assisting with his research on nutritional diets for bees,” she said. “When I wasn’t helping Richard, I would stroll through the garden. With my experience creating pollinator gardens in the past, I knew I could contribute by vitalizing the space and bolstering it into a vibrant haven for the bees.”

Murray, who grew up in Sonoma County, traces her interest in bees to age 7, when she joined a Girl Scout Brownie troop. Her interests soon expanded to pollinator gardens and beekeeping. She became a beekeeper as a sophomore at Santa Rosa High School, and served as president of the Santa Rosa High School Beekeeping Club for three years.

“I focused on coordinating ‘hive dives’ with our local Beekeepers’ Association experts to help guide us through the many facets of keeping bees,” she said. “I started going to Beekeepers Association meetings with my club advisor and I put my networking skills to use by asking local bee experts to visit and participate in activities with our club.”

Murray interned with Conservation Works, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Rosa that fosters environmental awareness and action. It seeks “tangible efforts in pollinator protection, water conservation, climate resilience and the development of sustainable communities.”

“Within this encouraging setting, I collaborated with Girl Scout troops across Sonoma County, embarking on projects to establish bee-friendly gardens to support local pollinators. This immersive experience ignited within me a profound fascination and connection with bees that would later grow to deepen my interest in apiculture and the greater biology of bees,” she said.

In the summer of 2021, Murray received the Girl Scout Gold Award, considered “the mark of the truly remarkable,” according to the Girl Scout website.

In her project, Murray “addressed the critical lack of knowledge surrounding bees by developing informative presentations aimed at educating youth about the significance of pollinators.”

While at Conservation Works, Murray designed and implemented pollinator gardens, and educated the public, including “the young ones,” on the importance of pollinator gardens. She praises mentors Oona Heacock, executive director of Conservation Works, and beekeeper-teacher Joan Weir for their inspiration and support.

“These kind and knowledgeable mentors have greatly inspired and supported my bee journey, and I’m very grateful for them,” she said.

In other activities, Murray participated in an episode of the Imagine If podcast, co-sponsored by the North American Association for Environmental Education and the National Geographic Society.

“It proved to be a transformative experience for me. Imagine If chronicles the narratives of high school students grappling with the aftermath of natural disasters in their communities, all the while seeking innovative solutions,” she said. “My involvement stemmed from my Girl Scout troop’s efforts in planting bee gardens in the wake of the devastating Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, catching the attention of the podcast’s producers.”

Meanwhile, Murray is looking forward to spring and “cracking open the hives and being among the bees and hearing their pleasant-sounding hum again.”

She plays both the harp and the flute. Throughout her UC Davis career, she has performed with the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Flute Choir and the Harp Ensemble.

“I always talk about wanting to bring my harp to play for the bees at the garden,” Murray said. “I certainly need to make it a reality.”

History of the Haven

The Bee Haven came to “bee” after Häagen-Dazs executives read a research news story by Kathy Keatley Garvey and telephoned her. The story dealt with the plight of honey bees and the work of UC Davis bee-breeder geneticist Susan Cobey “to build a better bee.” Cobey then managed the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.

A major donation followed to (1) fund a unique pollinator and demonstration garden and (2) to fund a doctoral fellowship (awarded to Michele Flenniken of UC Berkeley, now an associate professor at Montana State University). The Sausalito team of landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki won the national competition to design the garden.

The Sausalito team’s design zeroed in on sustainability and visitor experience. The four interconnected gardens, “Honeycomb Hideout,” “Nectar Nook,” “Pollinator Patch” and “My Backyard,” formed the physical and interpretive framework for the design. A series of trails connected the gardens. Trellises defined the entry ways and reinforced the passage to the next space.

The design also included a “Learning Center” building and paths labeled “Orchard Alley,” “Save the Bee Sanctuary,” “Round Dance Circle” and “Waggle Dance Way.”

Under the direction of then-department chair Lynn Kimsey (now UC Davis distinguished professor emerita), the garden sprang to life in the fall of 2009 and was initially named the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven for its primary donor. In 2010, a year after its installation, the Sacramento Bee named The Haven as one of the top 10 public garden destinations in the region.