2025 Pollinator Events

June is National Pollinators Month and June 16-22 is Virginia & National Pollinator Week! Pollinators play a critical role in our ecosystems, food systems, and gardens

Ongoing

Visit the Hampton Roads AREC. Did you know the thirty different demonstration gardens, two walking trails, and two arboretums at the Hampton Roads AREC are free and open to the public!? They have just finished installing a Monarch waystation (adjacent to our pollinator and native plant demonstration gardens). This new waystation is registered with the Monarch Watch. Stop by and visit! 1444 Diamond Springs Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.

June 7 

Henrico Master Gardeners Pollinator Festival and Plant Sale

When/Where: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Deep Run Park 9900 Ridgefield Pkwy, Henrico, VA 23233

Henrico County Master Gardeners will hold their annual Pollinator Festival and Plant Sale 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 7, in the Recreation Center at Deep Run Park in Henrico’s west end. Master Gardeners will be selling plants from their own gardens at bargain prices. The event will also include pre-made floral arrangements available for purchase, a “Garden Treasures” table selling gently used gardening items, educational displays, hands-on children’s activities, tool and knife sharpening, musical entertainment and a food truck. Henrico Master Gardeners will be staffing a Plant Clinic to answer gardening questions. Admission is free. More info via Facebook event.

Carroll County Beekeepers Annual Field Day and Hive Inspection

When/Where: 9:00 am in Hillsville, VA. Please preregister. Donations for lunch appreciated. Contact Steve Pottorff pottorff@vt.edu for more information and to register.

From a hive inspection beekeepers can learn about colony strength and population, queen productivity, pest detection, hive health and behavior. 

Birds, Bugs and Blooms: The Harmony of a Native Garden

When/Where: Schoolhouse #18, 7592 John Marshall Hwy, Marshall, VA 20115, 1:0 pm

Janet Davis, operator of Hillhouse Farm and Nursery will talk about plants and their benifits to local insects and wildlife. 

June 18-22

2025 Portsmouth Pollinator Festival 

When/Where:

• June 18th: Arts and Crafts 10-11am, Ages 5-8
• June 18th: Pollinator Talk 6-7pm, Adults 
• June 19th: STEM Activities 10-11am, Ages 5-8
• June 20th: Bee Lifecycle Activities 10-11am, Ages 5-8
• June 21st: Pollinator Festival and Plant Sale, All Ages

It is National Pollinator week! Come Celebrate Pollinator week with us. Pollinator Week June16-22nd 2025 is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health. It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. Pollinator Week 2025 is a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture. With these events-we urge participants to appreciate the essential role pollinators play in creating and expressing human culture, in all of its forms. These essential creatures, including bees, butterflies, moths, bats, beetles, and hummingbirds, are the unsung heroes behind the food we enjoy and the beauty that surrounds us.. By understanding the impact of our actions on their habitats and embracing sustainable practices, we can pave the way for a flourishing future. Join us in celebrating Pollinator Week 2025, and let's cultivate a world where both nature and humanity thrive in harmony. Explore our resources, learn about pollinator-friendly initiatives, and be inspired to contribute to the vision of a greener and more sustainable tomorrow. June 18th: Arts and Crafts 10-11am, Ages 5-8 June 18th: Pollinator Talk 6-7pm, Adults June 19th: STEM Activities 10-11am, Ages 5-8 June 20th: Bee Lifecycle Activities 10-11am, Ages 5-8 June 21st: Pollinator Festival and Plant Sale, All Ages Free Event! Register Here.

June 20

James City County/Williamsburg Pollinator Palooza

When/Where: Friday, June 20th, from 9:00–11:00 AM, 3793 Ironbound Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188-2513

Are you looking for an engaging and educational event to spark your child’s curiosity and excitement? Pollinator Palooza is perfect for combining fun, hands-on activities with meaningful learning! Join the JCC/Williamsburg Extension Master Gardeners on Friday, June 20th, from 9:00–11:00 AM at Veterans Park next to the Pollinator Garden, as part of James City County’s Longest Day at Play. More info on their website.

"Perk up and Learn" Coffee Hour on the Eastern Shore

When/Where: 9:00am-10:00am, Buttercups 16393 Courthouse Road, Eastville, VA

June is Pollinator Month: Learn about our local Eastern Shore Pollinators. Check Facebook for updates!

June 21

Suffolk Pollinator Day

When/Where: Seaboard Coastline Trail @ Driver Demo Garden: 10 AM – 12 PM, Sleepy Hole Park Children’s Garden: 11 AM – 1 PM

Discover the bees, butterflies, and blooms in your garden! Join us for tours, pollinator talks, a scavenger hunt, and free native plants (while supplies last)! Plus complete an easy scavenger hunt at both gardens, and you can pick up a FREE pollinator plant at Sleepy Hole Park, while they last! Learn more & see the map. Event details. All ages welcome. In case of rain event may be cancelled or participating locations may change.

Piedmont Master Gardeners “Through the Garden Gate” Tours

On Saturday, June 21, Master Gardeners will conduct tours at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. at each of three local gardens. No pre-registration required: 

• The Rose and Pollinator Gardens at The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Blvd. (off East Rio Road). Tours will focus on how to care for roses organically and how to grow native plants for pollinators in the landscape and in containers for small spaces, such as a balcony or patio. Visitors will learn pollinator-friendly practices that will help them design their own gardens to support pollinators and other wildlife.
• The Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Demonstration Garden, 500 Martha Jefferson Drive, adjacent to the amphitheater near the Sentara Martha Jefferson Cancer Center. Visitors will learn to identify and care for mostly native pollinator plants that thrive in hot, sunny conditions, in an area that was backfilled with compacted red clay soil. They will also learn about how the garden has evolved over the years and about plantings for blooms in at least three seasons.
• The Bread & Roses Gardens at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Ave. These demonstration gardens highlight sustainable agriculture in an urban setting, using principles based on conservation landscaping and organic gardening, both in the vegetable gardens and in the native habitat landscape plantings. The area abounds with native and edible plants that have been carefully selected to provide food, shelter and habitat for native insects and pollinators, including birds, while also providing healthy food for the community. This approach helps maintain habitat biodiversity and promotes pollination of food crops in the garden. 

Pollinator Week Kick-Off Celebration in Fredericksburg

When/Where: 10:00am-2:00pm, Fredericksburg Downtown Library

What is a pollinator?  Come explore the world of Pollinators & find out why they are so important.  Interactive activities; learn how to pollinate a flower; take home a flowering plant to attract your own pollinators & more. Presented by Master Gardeners & other community groups like Bee City, Gateway Bee Assoc., Master Naturalist & more!

June 26

How to iNaturalist

When/Where: VCE Fauquier County, 24 Pelham St. Warrenton, VA, 6:00 pm

Bert Harris, Director of Clifton Institute wil explore ways to use iNaturalist.