Bloomington is marking its first Pollinator Week since earning a Bee City USA designation last year.
The week includes a variety of events focused on pollinator conservation and education, including the BioBlitz project; a Lilly Library pop-up exhibition; a documentary screening, and pollinator habitat projects.
The BioBlitz runs from June 21 to 28 and invites residents to use the global app, iNaturalist, to document pollinators and plants throughout Bloomington.
Casey Green, data coordinator for the City of Bloomington Department of Parks and Recreation, said the project will help build a better understanding of local pollinator populations through community participation.
"We're really trying to rely more on community engagement and citizen science here," Green said.
She said information collected through the project could help guide future conservation and habitat management efforts.
At Indiana University, the Lilly Library Pollinator Week Pop-Up Exhibition on Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. will feature rare books, manuscripts, and nature journals related to bees, beekeeping, native plants, nature diary activities, and a pollinator-themed puzzle.
The exhibition is the first Pollinator Week event since IU received its Bee Campus USA designation in 2025.
Erin Chiparo, Lilly Library's curator of dermatology, general medicine and science, said the exhibition highlights the long history between humans and pollinators.
"If people are thinking of pollinator week and bees and all the things that that entails, they're probably not first thinking rare books library," Chiparo said. "But there's actually a surprising amount of crossover."
Other Pollinator Week events include a documentary screening on June 21 at the Monroe County Public Library, a Green Drinks discussion on June 24 at Upland Brewing Company focused on fireflies, and a Monroe County master Gardener event on June 25 at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center at IU.
All Pollinator Week events are free and open to the public.
