The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia
Wednesday, 11 June 2025 12:51

Sweet nectar of spring flows at annual UT pollinator festival

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GardenPollinator webPollinators play a vital role in maintaining our ecosystems, economies and agriculture. Here’s a bee in flight at the UT Gardens in Knoxville.  R. Lazarian/UTIA

Get your buzz on in Knoxville or two other locations in the state during Pollinator Week June 16-25

Lauren Tolley is a University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture marketing and communications associate. 

KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee Bee Campus Committee, a group comprised of UT faculty, staff and students, in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and UT Gardens, invites communities across the state to celebrate national Pollinator Week at a series of “Garden Buzz” pollinator events on June 17.

Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health, initiated and managed by the Pollinator Partnership. This year’s theme is “Pollinators Weave Connections” — highlighting the essential roles pollinators play in creating and expression of human culture, the food we enjoy and the beauty that surrounds us. Pollinator Week is June 16-25.

Similar to UT and TVA’s collaborative Garden Buzz celebrations in previous years, the 2025 Garden Buzz celebrations will offer participants opportunities to learn more about pollinators in Tennessee through educational activities. Attendees can also learn how to start their own pollinator gardens with locally grown plants that help support a thriving ecosystem.

In 2020, UT Knoxville was recognized as an official Bee Campus. As a Bee Campus, the university is committed to promoting pollinator health and habitat conservation through its landscape management and educational opportunities. Garden Buzz is just one of the many initiatives that the UT Bee Campus Committee has planned to promote pollinator health in the Knoxville, Crossville and Jackson communities.

“Garden Buzz is an example of the great events the University of Tennessee offers across the state through Extension, AgResearch, the Herbert College of Agriculture and other UT Institute of Agriculture programs,” says Jennifer Tsuruda, assistant professor and coordinator of the TN Master Beekeeping Program. “Whether your passion lies in pollinators, plants or both, these events will help you support pollinators, which themselves help support Tennesseans through pollination of agricultural crops and home gardens, and the production of local honey. We encourage people to come out and take a tour of the UT Gardens to see pollinators in action, visit our educational tables, taste some delicious honey (depending on location) and take home some pollinator plants to start their own pollinator garden to support pollinators across the state.”

“It’s important for everyone to do their part in supporting habitats for our pollinator friends,” said TVA Natural Resources Program Manager Suzanne Fisher. “TVA is proud to be a steward of a variety of pollinator areas in the region and to partner with UT in equipping the public with the resources and knowledge to help advance our shared goals.”

Garden Buzz events will be held in-person at each UT Gardens location across the state. The events are free to attend. Details are as follows:

  • UT Gardens, Jackson — June 17, 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. (CDT)
  • UT Gardens, Crossville — June 17, 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. (CDT)
  • UT Gardens, Knoxville — June 17, 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. (EDT)

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

Learn more about TVA’s efforts to slow and reverse the decline in pollinator populations at TVA.com/pollinators.

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Last modified on Tuesday, 24 June 2025 23:28
Published in News, Events, Creature Features, 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, 15 Life on Land
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