In 2007, National Pollinator Week was officially declared by the U.S. Senate in order to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture and to support efforts to increase awareness about pollinators. Here’s how Urbana-Champaign celebrated with the rest of the nation in 2014…
Week Long Events June 16-June 22
Pollinator Food Guides at Common Ground Food Co-op: Common Ground Food Co-op will have guides all around the store indicating which of the items need pollinators! Stop in and see how much of the food you eat on a daily basis wouldn’t exist without out bees, flies, birds, and bats!
Pollinator Menu at Big Grove Tavern: with all pollinated dishes labeled on the menu
Pollinator Pizza at Pizza M: with ingredients that wouldn’t exist without pollinators
Saturday, June 14
Pollinator Doughnut at Pandamonium Doughnuts: 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM at their booth at Urbana Market at the Square on June 14 featuring “Pollinator Doughnut” made with pollinated ingredients
Sunday, June 15
Pollination Fascination lecture series: Michelle Duennes presents “Finding new bumble bee species: Modern species-seeking and exploration” UI Pollinatarium
Monday, June 16
Urbana Free Library: VIP (Very Important Pollinators)! 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM Featuring the UI Pollinatarium’s Lesley Deem with storytelling and pollinator-friendly seeds to take home for free
Tuesday, June 17
Pollinator Tasting at Common Ground Food Co-op: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Tuesday’s tasting pollinator-themed! Some of the graduate students involved in making the “Pollinator Guides” you’ll see all around the store will be available to answer questions and serve up some interesting pollinated samples for you to enjoy.
Wednesday, June 18
Douglass Branch Library: Pollinators with Paws 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM National Pollinator Week with Lesley Deem from the UI Pollinatarium. Learn about pollinators who have paws rather than wings, such as geckos and the honey possum, then try being a pollinator yourself! This event will feature story-telling, honey-tastings, and is for school-age kids.
The Pollinator Round at Trivia Night at Pizza M: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Test of knowledge during a pollinator-themed round of trivia at Trivia Night at Pizza M!
Thursday, June 19
The Amazing Honey Bee by Maggie Wachter: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Beekeeper Maggie Wachter will take us inside the hive to discuss the evolution of the honey bee, its life cycle and how bees make honey. Some man-made and natural threats to honey bee survival will be discussed. This class is intended for gardeners, new beekeepers and anyone interested in protecting the environment.
Sunday, June 22
Pollination Celebration! UI Pollinatarium 12:00 – 2:00 PM Arts and crafts for kids, storytelling, and honey tasting
Nurturing Native Bees Workshop U of I Pollinatarium: 2:00 – 3:30 PM Free workshop on how to identify bees and to help them by providing nesting habitat; participants make and receive their own native bee house.
Special Cello Performance by Samuel Araya: Community Center for the Arts UI Pollinatarium 3:30 – 4:30 PM
