Celebrating Pollinators & Pride!
Nature's colors showing off with this Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee on Penstemon. Photo by Connie Misket.
June's warm days and moderate evenings welcome the blooms of jewel-toned wildflowers and skies vibrant with the buzz of pollinators. Our Utah Pollinator Pursuit community have been documenting the myriad of species that this warmth has awakened, logging 1,120 observations so far this month! Thank you to everyone who has joined the project and contributes valuable data to conserve our beloved pollinators!
This month, we're excited to celebrate both National Pollinator Week (June 17-23) and Pride Month! Read on to find out how you can get involved in our Pride celebrations and pollinator conservation.
Join us for our Pollinator Pride Party!
You're invited to celebrate Pride Month & National Pollinator Week with us our partners at Tracy Aviary's Nature Center at Pia Okwai on Saturday, June 22nd at our Pollinator Pride Party! Join us for pollinator walks, talks, and bike rides, art stations, and a chance to participate in pollinator conservation and celebrations of pride.
Please RSVP at the link below to help us plan!
Pollinator Highlight: Flower Flies
Flower flies, syrphid flies, hover flies - however you call them, these small and mighty pollinators truly pack a punch. This group is comprised of over 6,000 unique species and can be found in a vast range of habitats - from wetlands to our own backyards, flower flies provide essential ecosystem services, including pollination and pest control (goodbye, aphids!)
These beneficial insects play such an important role in our ecosystems that they've been named the 2024 Pollinator of the Year! To support these incredible pollinators, you can reduce your use of pesticides and add native plants to your yard that bloom throughout the seasons.
Large-tailed Aphideater shared by Amanda Barth
Introducing our Pollinator Office Hours
Our team of pollinator experts and enthusiasts will be hosting Pollinator Office Hours at pollinator hotspots across the Salt Lake Valley this summer to answer your pollinator questions, walk you through using iNaturalist, and sharing the joy of nature with our community!
Our next office hours will be on Tuesday, July 18th from 4pm-5pm at Liberty Park! You can find us on the sidewalk just south of the Liberty Park Green House.
All of these resources and more can be found on the Utah Pollinator Pursuit website and the project page here. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions about the project or how to get involved.
Spread the Joy of Pollinators
Monarch butterfly observed at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Photo by Jeff Strong.
Do you have a favorite pollinator photo from the past month? We would love to see it!
Photo donations allow us to further engage communities across Utah in this critical work to conserve critical pollinator species.
Thank You
Sageland's Communications Intern, Jimena, observing a bumble bee during a Pollinator Office Hours event. Photo by Sierra Hastings
Your contributions help us to inform best management practices for pollinators and the habitats they need to survive - thank you!
Not able to join us in the field this year? Please consider supporting this work through donating, sharing on social media or by passing this email along to family and friends who may be interested!
Please don't hesitate to email us at mary@sagelandcollaborative.org with any questions.