Pollinator Week: June 19-25

Dixie Sandborn<dixie@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension -

Let’s get ready to celebrate pollinators! Pollinator Week is an international celebration.

A photo of a bee on a flowering bush with the words: Pollinator Week. June 19-25, 2023. www.pollinator.org

Let’s get ready to celebrate pollinators! Pollinator Week is an international celebration and in the United States, we will celebrate June 19-25.

I am sure you have been hearing more and more about pollinators. From National Public Radio to your local newspaper, it seems like everyone is talking about pollinators. We are becoming more aware of what farmers and scientists have known for generations: pollinators need us and we need pollinators.

The first National Pollinator Week was observed in 2007 in the U.S. when Saxby Chambliss, a Georgia senator, sponsored Senate Resolution 580. He stated: “A resolution recognizing the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in the United States and the value of partnership efforts to increase awareness about pollinators and support for protecting and sustaining pollinators by designating June 24 through June 30, 2007, as ‘National Pollinator Week.’” At the time, the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to approve a week to acknowledge the urgent issue of taking steps to draw awareness of the declining pollinator populations.

Why are pollinators so important? Here are some fun facts:

  • 75-95% of all flowering plants on Earth need pollinators.
  • Fruit and vegetable production needs pollinators for successful crops – a large portion of the food we eat needs pollinators.
  • The global economy depends on pollinators. The estimate economic value worldwide is between $235 and $577 billion U.S. dollars.
  • In the U.S., $24 billion in agricultural productivity depends on pollinators; $15 billion is attributed to honeybees.
  • Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils and support other wildlife.

During Pollinator’s Week, Michigan State University Extension encourages you to share the importance of action in your community, yard, or any outdoor space to look for and provide food and habitat for the birds, bats, bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, moths, wasps and other small animals that pollinate. Ways you can educate others and celebrate Pollinator Week in your community include:

  • Host a pollinator meal – make sure everything you serve needed a pollinator.
  • Host a pollinator planting party in a local park, schoolyard or library.
  • Build a native bee house.
  • Host a nature walk and look for pollinators.
  • Host a native plant sale.
  • Buy local honey.
  • Plant habitat using native plants.
  • Host an educational event about pollinators at your local library.
  • Read Exploring pollinators with youth or Making seedballs with youth and host a youth pollinator event.

Visit the Pollinator Partnership’s website for more ideas and information about International Pollinator Week and to register your pollinator event. In addition, here are some resources from MSU to learn more about pollinators:

You can also take a moment to learn what youth in Michigan are doing to support pollinators:

Happy Pollinator Week!

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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