Pollinator celebration with UMaine Extension features experts, hands-on fun and Wyman’s food truck

Old Town, Maine — University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host Pollen Palooza, a free, family-friendly celebration of pollinators, on Saturday, May 31, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Rogers Farm, 914 Bennoch Road, Old Town.

The event will feature engaging, educational activities for all ages focused on the essential role of bees, butterflies and other pollinators in Maine’s ecosystems. Visitors can enjoy ongoing attractions including face painting, free samples of Wyman’s fruit and peanut butter poppers from their Bee Wild Mobile, sunflower planting, a bee petting zoo, avian activities with Maine Audubon, live and pinned insects, 3-D pollen models, a pollinator-friendly seed tape activity, and an observation hive. Timed activities include How to Build and Maintain a Bee Hotel with UMaine Assistant Professor of Agricultural Entomology Phil Fanning at 11 a.m.; Insect and Plant Tours with Jennifer Lund, Hillary Peterson and Gary Fish from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry at 10:30 and noon; and Storytime with Cindy Seger from Old Town Public Library at 11 a.m.

Additional featured guests include UMaine students, Black Bear Beekeepers and Master Gardener Volunteers sharing knowledge and resources to help community members support pollinators in their own backyards. More information can be found at the Rogers Farm webpage. 

This event is hosted by UMaine Extension. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Kate Garland at katherine.garland@maine.edu or 207.942-7396. Requests for accommodations received at least seven days before the event provide a reasonable amount of time to meet the request; however, all requests will be considered.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension

As a trusted resource for over 100 years, Extension has supported UMaine’s land and sea grant public education role by conducting community-driven, research-based programs in every Maine county. UMaine Extension seeks to build thriving communities and grow the food-based economy, focusing on aspects from production and processing to nutrition, food safety and food security. Extension also conducts the most successful out-of-school youth educational program in Maine through 4-H which offers hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and civic engagement and creates a positive environment where participants are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles.