Local Organizations Partner to Host Pollinator Week Events June 21 - 27

CONTACT:
Kristin Hill, Communications Specialist
563-690-6068, khill@cityofdubuque.org

June 16, 2021 -- For Immediate Release

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Local organizations have partnered to host several events in celebration of Pollinator Week from June 21 - 27, 2021, including Alliant Energy, City of Dubuque, Carnegie-Stout Public Library, Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Multicultural Family Center, National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, St. Mark's Youth Enrichment, and Sustainable Dubuque.

Pollinator Week was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership. Fourteen years ago the U.S. Senate designated a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marking a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration, promoting the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats, and beetles.

The public is invited to participate in and attend the following events:

Picture Perfect Pollinator Photo Contest

Monday, June 21 - Sunday, June 27, 2021

To enter, like Sustainable Dubuque on Instagram or Facebook then post an original photo of a pollinator up-close, pollinator-flower interaction, or pollinator landscapes using the hashtags #pictureperfectpollinator and #dbq. Winners will receive a prize package from the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

Dubuque Pollinator BioBlitz

Monday, June 21 - Sunday, June 27, 2021

The Pollinator BioBlitz is a community effort to record as many pollinators as possible during Pollinator Week!

How It Works:
If you can find a pollinator and take a picture of it, you can participate as a BioBlitz observer! Download the iNaturalist app on your mobile device (Google Play, App Store), head outside, and snap as many photos of pollinators as possible including bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, hummingbirds, bats, wasps, flies, and more! Then, upload your photos to the iNaturalist app and share your observations. Go solo or BioBlitz with friends and family. Either way, you’ll love being a citizen scientist!

Join the project on iNaturalist!

Carnegie-Stout Public Library StoryWalk at the Bee Branch

Starting the week of June 21.

The Carnegie-Stout Public Library is opening a permanent StoryWalk at the Bee Branch Creek Greenway and it will be ready just in time for Pollinator Week!

The first book featured will be The Hidden Rainbow by Christie Matheson, an interactive story about gardens, bees, the natural world, and our place within it. The StoryWalk will start at the flagpoles by the bus stop on E. 22nd St. then continue across the E. 22nd St. bridge. It will follow the trail up to E. 24th St. and end at the play area with slides. Parking is available at the corner of E. 22nd St. and Prince St.

Pollinator Chalk-A-Palooza

Friday, June 25, 5 - 7 p.m.
at the Bee Branch Creek Greenway

All ages are invited to chalk the sidewalk at the Bee Branch Creek Greenway in celebration of Pollinator Week. Let's cover the sidewalk with bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, hummingbirds, bats, flowering plants, food crops, and all things pollinator-related!

A limited supply of chalk will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own chalk and tools. Everyone who participates will be entered into a drawing to win punch cards to the City of Dubuque pools. No registration is required. To participate, check in at the Chalk-A-Palooza table at the 6th Annual Summer Sustainability Fair.

6th Annual Summer Sustainability Fair

Friday, June 25, 5 - 7 p.m.
at the Bee Branch Creek Greenway

Join Green Iowa AmeriCorps for its 6th annual Summer Sustainability Fair! Dubuque organizations will be showcasing their sustainability efforts including Convivium Urban Farmstead, Green Dubuque, Dubuque County Energy District, Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency, the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Trees Forever, and others. A family-friendly event, activities include interactive booths with activities and crafts, musical entertainment, raffle giveaways, the Pollinator Chalk-A-Palooza, electric vehicle viewing, and more!

Movie in the Park:
Bee Movie at the Bee Branch

Friday, June 25, 8:45 p.m.
at the Bee Branch Creek Greenway

In celebration of Pollinator Week, the City of Dubuque Leisure Services Department is showing the animated family film Bee Movie on their outdoor movie screen at the Bee Branch Creek Greenway.

The film will be shown in the open green space along Prince St. between E. 22nd St. and E. 24th St. Don't forget to bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and movie snacks!

Trash Pick-Up for Pollinators

Saturday, June 26, 9 - 11 a.m.
at the Lower Bee Branch

Help keep our local pollinator habitat clean!

The Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency (DMASWA) is hosting a Trash Pick-Up for Pollinators at the Lower Bee Branch. If possible, sign up in advance at www.cityofdubuque.org/pickup4pollinators. Volunteers should meet at the E. 16th St. Overlook.

Can’t attend the event on Saturday? Do your part by picking up trash in your neighborhood or local park during Pollinator Week!

Additional Pollinator Week Initiatives

During Pollinator Week, students from the St. Mark's Youth Enrichment Hereos Summer Academy and the Multicultural Family Center Summer Teen Empowerment Program will participate in hands-on educational classes. Please note, these programs are NOT open to the public.

St. Mark's Youth Enrichment Bee Program
Wednesday, June 23, 9 - 10:30 a.m.
at the Bee Branch Community Garden & Urban Orchard

In this 90-minute interactive program fifth-graders from St. Mark's Youth Enrichment will learn about the biology of bees, what a beekeeper does, the life cycle of a bee, the vital role of bees in our environment, and how to help bees in their own backyard and community! Hands-on activities will include:

Honey tasting
Looking at beehive equipment
Dressing like a beekeeper
Rolling a beeswax candle
Looking at bee parts through a microscope
Viewing live honeybees in an observation hive

This program is being provided by the Dubuque Swiss Valley Beekeeping Club.

MFC STEP Pollinator Program
Wednesday, June 23, 9:45 - 12:30 p.m. and 2:15 - 5 p.m.
at the Lower Bee Branch and Alliant Solar Array

Students from the Multicultural Family Center (MFC) Summer Teen Empowerment Program (STEP) will participate in an interactive program about pollinators lead by the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (NMRMA). The students will identify and count milkweed stems and monarch caterpillars, discuss the connectivity of native plants, and install two native bee homes at the Lower Bee Branch which were provided by the Bee Conservancy through its Sponsor-A-Hive program.

As part of the same program, the students will learn about the Port of Dubuque Solar Array and how power companies can help pollinators. They will hear from Alliant Operations Manager Dean Beneke and Senior Environmental Specialist Wendy Greene. Beneke manages an Alliant Generation Power Plant and Energy Delivery in Northeast Iowa. Greene oversees habitat installations, is involved in Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Programs including Power in Pollinators, and oversees the environmental aspects of Energy Delivery construction projects.

For more information about local Pollinator Week events, visit www.cityofdubuque.org/pollinatorweek. To learn more about Pollinator Week and the Pollinator Partnership, visit www.pollinator.org.

Please do not reply to this message. If you would like additional information on this issue, please contact the staff person identified at the top of the message or contact the City of Dubuque Public Information Office at rgehl@cityofdubuque.org or 563.589.4151.