Celebrate Nebraska's pollinators June 19-25, 2023!
Pollinator Week is a seven-day celebration across North America. Here in Nebraska, we make a special effort to promote and share our love and excitement for pollinators. Each year, Nebraska Game and Parks hosts “Nebraska Pollinator Week,” recruiting interested organizations across the state to register and host one or more pollinator themed events during this fun week. This year, Pollinator Week is June 19-25, 2023.
Nebraska Game and Parks will host the Nebraska Pollinator Quest, an effort to find and record as many pollinators as possible during the 2023 Pollinator Week.
Participating is easy:
Step 1: Find a pollinator (bee, butterfly, hummingbird, etc.)
Step 2: Snap a picture
Step 3: Upload to iNaturalist!
Other Nebraska Pollinator Week events are planned across the state. Find an event near you below.
| Event | Time | Host | Location | Event website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pollinator Investigation Exhibit and Activities | 10 a.m. June 16 | Elkhorn Valley Museum | 515 Queen City Blvd, Norfolk | More details |
| Kids Art Smart: Bees & Butterflies | June 19-23 | Lux Center for the Arts | 2601 N. 48th St., Lincoln | More details |
| Skywalk Lighting | 10 p.m. June 19-23 | Downtown Partners | Fourth Street, between the intersections of Fourth and Pierce and Fourth and Jones streets, Sioux City | More details |
| Pollinator Palooza | June 20-25 | Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center | 11700 SW 100th St, Denton | More details |
| Pollinators at Ponca State Park | 8 a.m. June 20 | Nebraska Game and Parks | 88090 Spur 26 E Ponca | More details |
| Pollinator Safari | 10 a.m. June 20 | Rock County Library Summer Reading Program | Meet at the intersection of Park Street and the Cowboy Trail, Bassett | More details |
| Neighborhood Nature Fest | 5-7:30 p.m. June 21 | Nebraska Game and Parks | 7028 Military Ave, Omaha | More details |
| Science of … Pollinators | 3-4 p.m. June 22 | Nebraska Game and Parks | Zoom webinar | More details |
| Nebraska Pollinator Quest at Medicine Creek | 11 a.m. July 23 | Nebraska Game and Parks | Shady Bay Campground, Medicine Creek State Recreation Area, Cambridge | More details |
| Pollinator Picnic: Family Friday | 11 a.m. June 23 | Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center | 9325 S Alda Rd, Wood River | More details |
| Pollinator Day | 2 p.m. June 23 | Lied Lincoln Township Library | 603 E Norris, Wausa | More details |
| Lauritzen Gardens Bioblitz | 9 a.m. June 24 | Lauritzen Gardens | 100 Bancroft St Omaha | More details |
| Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas – Training | 9-11:30 a.m. June 24 | Nebraska Game and Parks | 210615 NE-71, Gering | More details |
| Benson Pollinator Party | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. June 24 | Pollinator Alliance of the Heartland | 6915 Evans StreetOmaha, NE | More details |
| Pollinator Party at Schramm | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 24 | Schramm Education Center | 21502 West Highway 31, Gretna | More details |
| Monarcas y Migraciones con la Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim | 6 p.m. June 24 | Monarch Joint Venture | 4913 S 25th St, Omaha | More details |
Or explore the Pollinator Week events map on the national Pollinator Week site.
Nebraska Game and Parks is dedicated to conserving all pollinator species, but we need your help. Explore our resources below or get involved in pollinator conservation.
There is an urgent need to track monarchs across their range over time to better understand and adjust conservation measures. Thanks to the Wildlife Conservation Fund, a community science project is ongoing to monitor regal fritillaries and monarch butterflies.
The Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas is a community science project aimed at gathering the data needed to track and conserving bumble bees.
Monarch gardening is a very easy and rewarding activity and can even be completed in something as small as a flower pot! The recommended size of a monarch garden measures at least 100 square feet. However, plants and flowers can be incorporated into any mini-habitat in your garden, including as border plants along your vegetable gardens.
Monarchs are one of the most iconic pollinator species, but across North America, they are disappearing. Pesticide and herbicide use, deforestation of their wintering grounds in Mexico and loss of milkweed in the United States are three important reasons for their decline.
Nebraska Game and Parks is dedicated to conserving all pollinator species – including monarchs. To advance monarch conservation, we need more quality land management, more in depth research and more education for all residents.
Explore our related content below to learn more.
Learn more about the monarch butterfly and the quest to conserve it.
