KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's Pollinator Week across Tennessee, meant to highlight the important role that pollinators like bees and butterflies have in the environment. To celebrate the pollinators across East Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Bee Campus Committee hosted an event at the UT Gardens on Tuesday.
"Garden Buzz: The Celebration of Pollinators" gave the committee a chance to give tours of the garden and discuss honey products. They also hosted information booths and displayed insects. Participants could also take part in pollinator giveaways.
"We are giving away free plans, we have educational vendors and fun activities all to celebrate pollinator services and plants," said Whitney Hale, the education coordinator at UT Gardens. "Pollinators are animals that provide a service to plants, where they carry pollen from one plant to the next to aid in reproduction ... Many different creatures can be pollinators, and they are critically important, not just to our ecosystem but to human beings."
The event was sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Hale said. The bee campus committee is made up of organizations including UT's sustainability office and members of the campus community.
"Most of our food that is produced actually relies on pollinators for successful production," said Hale.