Pollinator Week
This year Pollinator Week is June 20-26, 2022. Howard County Bee City has a variety of activities to get involved in celebrating pollinators – see details below!
Butterfly Walks
HOWARD COUNTY BIRD and BUTTERFLY CLUB
Wednesday, June 22, 10:30 am-12:00 pm & Sunday, June 26, 1:30 pm-3:00 pm
Come join us on a short butterfly walk (weather permitting) on the grounds of the Howard County Conservancy. The milkweed should be blooming, and we could see Banded and Coral Hairstreaks which only fly for about three weeks this time of year. In addition, we could see Gray Hairstreaks, Monarch, Tiger, Spicebush and Black Swallowtails, Eastern Tailed-Blue and several species of skippers. We should have Sleepy Orange on the Senna in the Community Garden and have a good chance of finding Little Wood Satyr and Northern Pearly-eye. Email kjheff122@gmail.com or sign up at the butterfly table during the Pollinator Fest event. Limited to 15 people per event.
Annie’s Story Time
HOWARD COUNTY RECREATION & PARKS – ROBINSON NATURE CENTER
Saturday June 25, 10:00-11:00 am – REGISTER HERE
Enjoy an inter-generational story time near the footprint of where Annie Robinson’s house once stood. Bring a book or enjoy one of ours. Free books will be raffled off with support of James & Anne Robinson Foundation.
Pollinator Fest
HOWARD COUNTY CONSERVANCY
Sunday, June 26, 10:00 am–1:00 pm – REGISTER HERE
Join Bee City at the Howard County Conservancy to celebrate pollinators! Learn about various pollinators at different stations set up along the pollinator trail and enjoy fun, hands-on pollinator themed activities and games.
Pollinator StoryWalk®
HOWARD COUNTY RECREATION & PARKS – MIDDLE PATUXENT ENVIRONMENTAL AREA and HOWARD COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
June 17–26, dawn to dusk, self-led
In celebration of National Pollinator Week, come out to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area to enjoy a StoryWalk® of Flowers Are Calling, written by Rita Gray, and illustrated by Kenard Pak. A StoryWalk® is a deconstructed children’s book made into signs placed along a trail where visitors can stroll and follow the story from page to page. Combine reading, physical activity, and family time in nature in a fun new way! Learn about pollinators while walking through meadows and forest. Free and self-guided on natural surface trails. Trail starts at the Trotter Road main entrance kiosk at 5795 Trotter Road, Clarksville, MD 21029.
Meadow Exploration Kits
HOWARD COUNTY RECREATION & PARKS – ROBINSON NATURE CENTER
June 18–26, self-led
Meadow Exploration Kits will be available to borrow throughout the week, first-come, first-served (while supplies last). Visitors can check them out from our front desk. They will be available during our normal operating hours: Wed – Sat, 9 am-5 pm and Sun 12-5 pm. Robinson Nature Center is located at 6692 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MD 21044.
POLLINATOR POWERHOUSE PLANTS
LAUREN’S GARDEN SERVICE & NATIVE PLANT NURSERY
Buy any of the top 5 pollinator powerhouse plants (Monarda, Solidago, Aster, Pycnanthemum, and Asclepsis) during Pollinator Week and 10% of proceeds will benefit Howard County Bee City. Plus, Saturday June 18 & 25—Make a DIY bee puddler craft. See www.laurensgardenservice.com for more information.
Cultivate Garden & Goods (located at LGS Native Plant Nursery) will be offering a 5% donation to Howard County Bee City Chapter for any pollinator-related sales. Items with bees, butterflies, bat houses, moths and more will have proceeds donated!
Other Ways to get involved in Pollinator Week:
Sign-Up for the Pollinator Week Bioblitz on iNaturalist
Take part in the 2022 Pollinator Week Bioblitz on iNaturalist! Join this community science project to help collect data on the distribution of pollinators across the United States, Canada, and Mexico during Pollinator Week. This project is easy to join, and consists of taking pictures of pollinators and the flowers they are visiting and uploading them to iNaturalist to be included in the dataset. This community science project is hosted by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s (NAPPC) Pollinator Communications Task Force. Sign-up and learn more HERE.
Pollinator Power Party
Register for the Pollinator Power Party! Pollinator Partnership invites you to the 2022 Pollinator Power Party co-hosted with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) June 20 – 24. This party started in 2020, and has rapidly become the world’s largest party celebrating pollinators! Last year it reached over 2 million people from around the globe. There will be 1-hour daily virtual sessions, and topics that will be covered this year include:
- Gardening, Culture, and Equity
- Honey Tasting
- Lovely Lepidoptera
- Pollinator MythBusters
Register for the virtual party by clicking HERE.
National Pollinator Week Webinar – USGS Bee Lab Director, Sam Droege (Virtual)
In recognition of National Pollinator Week, The City of Greenbelt is offering a free pollinator webinar with USGS Bee Lab Director, Sam Droege on Tuesday, 6/21 at 7 PM. Gain insight into the world of pollinators and learn about the important work being done at the USGS Bee Lab! To register: https://bit.ly/392e6yA