Pollinator Party

Event is FREE, please register so we can get a count. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pollinator-party-2023-tickets-444870167647 The Pollinator Party benefiting the Prairie Enthusiasts (Donations Encouraged) is an afternoon of education about pollinators, how we can help them and a plant walk. Justin Nooker Coulee Region Chair of The Prairie Enthusiasts will be available for questions. In the Upper Midwest, The Prairie Enthusiasts is the only organization solely dedicated to the preservation of the once vast, now endangered, prairies and savannas. The Prairie Enthusiasts is a volunteer-driven prairie preservation organization that educates, protects, and restores prairies and savannas in the upper Midwest. Visit https://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/ to learn more. Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us 1 out of every 3 bites of food. The first 50 participants will receive care packages from Prairie Moon Nursery which include seed packets, native plant-insect interactions guides, seed starting basics brochures, and information about cultivars explaining why it’s important for pollinators to “go native.” During the first hour: Ned Gatzke of the Prairie Enthusiasts will talk about his experience creating a prairie on his land for about 15 - 20 minutes then Q & A and a break. Next Missy Davey will read from her illustrated children's book "Rusty Bumble A Bee's Story," then Q & A and a break. During the second hour: Micah Kloppenburg will give a presentation about Pollinators and Prairies: Entangled Ecology for about 30 minutes then Q & A and a break. Micah Kloppenburg is the Xerces Society's WI Pollinator Habitat Specialist. Based in Madison, he provides pollinator-related technical guidance, management recommendations, workshops, and outreach events to conservation planners, farmers, private landowners, and other community members across Wisconsin who are interested in caring for our native pollinators and their habitat. During the third hour: We will take a plant walk with Micah Kloppenburg. Bring sturdy, comfortable hiking shoes (our land is very hilly) and weather-appropriate clothing. Along our walk, we will pass a planted prairie where Brian McQuilkin is planning to keep bees. He has 27 years of experience keeping bees and will give a short presentation about bees during our plant walk.