Happy National Pollinator Week! Pollinators such as honey bees, native bees, birds, bats, and butterflies are essential partners to farmers, ranchers and gardeners in producing food and keeping items such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables in our diets.

To celebrate, USDA is excited to host the 8th annual Pollinator Week Festival on Friday, June 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. More than 19 different groups will participate including numerous USDA agencies, other federal and state departments and partners. They’ll be sharing actions you can take in your own backyard and neighborhood, on farms and ranches, and in city parks and wild areas, to help strengthen and support pollinator populations. In conjunction with the Pollinator Week Festival, the USDA Farmers Market will run during the day (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.) and in the evening from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. followed by a bat walk at 8 p.m. These events are free, fun and educational for both youth and adults and include live honey bees and bats, pollinator-friendly plant giveaways, honey tasting, insect collecting, and so much more. The festival and the bat walk start in the Headquarters People’s Garden at the corner of 12th Street and Jefferson Drive, SW. Follow @PeoplesGarden on Twitter for more details about the Pollinator Week Festival.

2017 Pollinator Week Festival Participants:

USDA Agencies and Initiatives
Agricultural Marketing Service
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Bee Research Laboratory
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Farm Service Agency
Natural Resources Conservation Service
The People’s Garden
U.S. Forest Service

Other Federal and State Departments
DC Water
Department of Energy and the Environment
Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History
United States Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Partners
Million Garden Pollinator Challenge
National Honey Board
National Wildlife Federation
Organization for Bat Conservation
Pollinator Partnership
University of Maryland Extension

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