A lot of buzz around pollinator-protection awareness event

Visitors will be able to interact with monarch butterflies.

Activities include creating bee houses for native bees.

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Urban Garden Center (UGC) will promote pollinator protection awareness and strategies at its free Second Saturday at the Garden event on June 8, 8:30–11:30 a.m.

Education and outreach will be provided by members of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), including bee expert Chrissy Mogren.

Participants can feed monarch butterflies and native Kamehameha butterflies (pulelehua). They will learn about the host plants for these insects and can taste tea made from māmaki, the favored food of pulelehua. Other activities include an interactive honeybee display showing the inner workings of a bee colony, talks with beekeepers and a honey tasting.

Keiki are invited to make and take a bee house and a seed mix to grow their own pollinator-friendly plants. There will be picture-taking opportunities.

Purchase pollinator-themed plants grown and contributed by the O‘ahu Master Gardeners, and take a tour of UGC’s pollinator garden. The Plant Doctor booth will answer plant and garden questions.

UGC, one of the research and extension stations of CTAHR, is a 30-acre site in Pearl City that serves as a one-stop educational outreach center where the public can get help and inspiration for home gardens through school tours, workshops and demonstrations. Techniques showcased include home-garden irrigation solutions, xeriscaping, grafting and companion planting.