Summer is officially here! In my backyard garden the flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and pollinators are busy doing their work to keep our ecosystem thriving. Between 75 percent and 95 percent of all flowering plants on our planet need help to be healthy; they need pollinators. But many pollinators like bats, bees, and butterflies are at risk. Their populations are in decline due to loss of feeding and nesting habitat, overuse of chemicals and pesticides, and changes to weather patterns. In short, pollinators need us – and we certainly need them. Which is why I’m thrilled to be hosting for the third year the world’s largest party for pollinators… the 2022 Pollinator Power Party!
The 2022 Pollinator Power Party will be held June 20 – 24 in coordination with National Pollinator Week. Each day, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and event co-host Pollinator Partnership will bring pollinator researchers and scientists, tribal leaders, and leaders from organizations like Pollinator Posse and Monarch Watch to a screen near you. We’ll focus on a different areas of pollinator contributions, including the connection between bees and human health, butterflies and moth 101, honey tasting, power company conservation stories, native gardening, and social equity.
For those that are not familiar with the Party, it was born from EPRI’s Power-In-Pollinators Initiative, the largest collaboration of power companies working on pollinators. Power companies manage millions of acres of land and are thinking about how to protect pollinators, while also delivering safe and affordable electricity. Thoughtful land management approaches can ensure reliable electricity flows and provides a protected space for pollinators to fly.
As the Power-In-Pollinators Initiative grew, some members expressed interest in communicating more widely about what they were learning and their own conservation stories. Initially, we encouraged companies to participate in National Pollinator Week (celebrated in June each year) and helped support education events in their own communities. But in 2020, EPRI launched the first Pollinator Power Party, a virtual event bringing the world’s best scientists straight into the living room of people across the globe. That first year we were delighted by the enormous interest in the topic as our event reached more than one million participants including home gardeners, parents and kids, community groups, and business leaders.
In 2021, our party grew again to a whopping 2.3 million people! Participants joined to learn how pollinators are integral to their personal lives and connected to the jobs, farming, equity, and even the health of our communities. In addition to learning, the Party includes fun events like a pollinator art contest, worldwide new song releases, and celebrity cooking lessons to keep things engaging for all ages.
This year, we’re back bigger and better than before. Our 2022 Party will include exciting conversations one hour a day for five days. It’s a short time commitment with a huge payoff. I’m confident that if you join us each day, you will leave inspired and eager to learn, share, and do more to spread the power of pollinators.
Register today and save the date to join pollinator enthusiasts to celebrate, learn, and get our party on!