Second Annual Pollinator Party Planned At Isle A La Cache

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Isle a la Cache in Romeoville is throwing its second annual Pollinator Party to celebrate the insects and animals that pollinate our plants and benefit the planet, the Forest Preserve District of Will County said in a news release.

Pollinator Party festivities will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 24, at Isle a la Cache preserve. The free, all-ages event will feature pollinator-themed craft activities, an interactive pollinator maze, a face painter and live bats from Incredible Bats, a bat education group.

According to the preserve, attendees will find out how to support pollinators at home with insect hotels, gardens and native plants. The Nature Foundation of Will County will also be selling native plants, while supplies last.

“This is our second annual Pollinator Party event at Isle a la Cache preserve,” said Jen Guest, the facility supervisor for Isle a la Cache Museum. “We have a super fun day planned to celebrate pollinators and plants! Check out our vendor booths, which focus on monarchs, bats, bees, hummingbirds, composting and more.”

Pollinator Party visitors also can stop by Isle a la Cache’s pollinator garden, which should be in full bloom, Guest said in a release.

“Sit for a while in the garden and soak in views of the Des Plaines River and Isle a la Cache preserve,” she said. “We have free pollinator plant seeds to give away while supplies last. Bring a camera to capture the fun and beauty during this awesome event.”

Pollinators are necessary for plants, but some pollinators are struggling, including monarch butterflies.

During Pollinator Party, the documentary, "The Guardians" will be screened inside the museum at noon and 2 p.m. The film shows the lives of the iconic monarch butterfly and an indigenous community in Mexico and shows how both rely on oyamel fir trees, the preserve said. With the monarch population plummeting from 1 billion to 33 million in 20 years, the film shows how the people of Donaciano Ojeda decided to regrow the forest rather than continue logging operations.

Pollinator Party takes place during national Pollinator Week, Guest said. So while the event is local, it taps into a national and global education effort.

"It’s important to realize that we have pollinators in our area, but some of them also travel long distances as part of their migrations," Guest said in a release. "It’s important to help the earth as a whole to protect pollinators' global habitats from decline and destruction."