For Immediate Release
Learn About Bees and Wildflowers at Three ‘Celebrating Nebraska Pollinator’ Events
Lincoln, Neb. (May 26, 2022) – Wild bees and other pollinators play a crucial role in pollinating fruits, vegetables, grains and flowers that are essential to both human agriculture and wild ecosystems.
Nebraska Public Media, Nebraska Game and Parks, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and Nebraska Extension Bee Lab, are community partners in “Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators,” a project designed to highlight the challenges pollinators are facing from habitat and food supply decline, pesticides and more.
“Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators” is inspired by the program “Nature: My Garden of a Thousand Bees,” which aired in May on PBS. Activities at three locations across Nebraska will celebrate Nebraska’s pollinators and native plants, and train ‘citizen scientists’ to support this essential part of our ecosystem.
Events in Gering, Lincoln and Gretna are free and open to the public. They include:
Gering -- Plants in the Plaza, 5-8 p.m. MT, Friday, June 10, Gering Civic Plaza, 1030 N. St. --
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and friends are hosting a picnic and plant event in the Gering Civic Plaza to celebrate Nebraska Wildflower Week and the importance of wildflowers to our native pollinators. Learn about Nebraska’s wildflowers, native pollinators and honey bees at family-friendly educational booths. Food will be available for purchase, but attendees can also bring picnic dinners.
Lincoln -- Wild Bees and Wildflowers Open House, 6:30 to 8 p.m. CT, Wednesday, June 22, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Pollinator Garden and Outdoor Classroom, 48th and Holdrege, East Campus --The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab is creating hands-on activities and demonstrations to celebrate wild bees and wildflowers. The public can learn about pollinators and native plants with kid-friendly crafts and activities. The Pollinator Garden and Outdoor Classroom are accessible from East Campus Loop Drive up to Fair Street.
Gretna -- Pollinator Party, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT, Saturday, June 25, Schramm Education Center, 21502 West Highway 31 -- The Nebraska Game & Parks Commission is hosting a family-friendly pollinator event with activities outside and in the Schramm Education Center Classroom. Attendees can see live honey bees, bumble bees, rare butterflies and other insects and help survey the Schramm prairie for insects as part of a prairie pollinator bioblitz.
The Pollinator Party also includes games, crafts, honey tasting and the chance to ask questions about managed and wild bees. Master gardeners and entomologists from Nebraska Extension will answer lawn and garden questions. Admission costs will apply if visitors want to explore the Schramm Education Center.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission pollinator event is presented in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab, Nebraska Extension, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Entomology Department and Nebraska Public Media.
During June, Nebraska gardeners and nature lovers are encouraged to enter the “Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators Photo Contest” on Instagram. Nebraska Public Media is looking for photos of wildflowers and native plants in bloom, pollinators in action, and even photos of people planting and tending to pollinator-friendly yards.
Participants who use the hashtag #PlantWildflowersNE when uploading photos to Instagram will be entered into a drawing to win one of two prize packages. Entries may be featured in photo galleries on the Nebraska Public Media website and social media accounts.
More information, rules and eligibility for the “Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators Photo Contest” are available at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/pollinators.
National partners for “Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators” include the PBS series “Nature” and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. For more information about these events, wild bees and pollinators, visit NebraskaPublicMedia.org/pollinators.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Kim Rogers, 402-660-5521
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