Garden Buzz: The Celebration of Pollinators

The University of Tennessee Gardens, Jackson, will once again host Garden Buzz: The Celebration of Pollinators in honor of national Pollinator Week. This free and family-friendly event will be hosted on June 18 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, located at 605 Airways Boulevard in Jackson, Tennessee.

Participants will be able to enjoy a variety of seasonal activities including a garden tour beginning at 12:30 p.m., arts and crafts for kids, honey tastings and booths featuring local representatives from the Jackson Area Beekeepers Association, Madison County Master Gardener program and other organizations across the region. The first 100 attendees will also receive a Pollinator Party Pack featuring flowers they can plant at home.

“Pollinators are all around us, and they play an important role in the health of our world,” says Scott Stewart, director of the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. “We are excited to bring this event back for a second year to provide people of all ages with activities and education as part of Pollinator Week.”

Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health, initiated and managed by Pollinator Partnership. Garden Buzz will offer participants the opportunity to learn more about pollinators in Tennessee, in addition to providing guidance on how they can take action through filling their gardens with plants that benefit pollinating insects.

“The Pollinator Party Packs were a huge hit last year because it gives people the opportunity to learn about horticulture while benefitting pollinators at the same time,” says Jason Reeves, curator of UT Gardens, Jackson. “This year, the packs come with an assortment of native flowering plants, making them the perfect addition for your garden. We encourage you to bring the whole family and check out all that this event has to offer.”

UT Knoxville is recognized as a Bee Campus as a result of the university’s commitment to promoting pollinator health and conserving their natural habitat. Garden Buzz is just one of the many upcoming initiatives from the UT Bee Campus Committee to promote pollinator health in Tennessee.

For more information about other Bee Campus initiatives across the state, please visit tiny.utk.edu/bee-campus.

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.