GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Museum of Natural History is kicking off October with Pollinator Palooza, an event series focused on plants, photography and pollinators of all kinds.

plants set up in parking lot
Visitors can browse online through roughly 100 species of difficult-to-find and pollinator-friendly plants. ©Kristen Grace/Florida Museum

“We know how much people love ButterflyFest, and while we can’t hold an in-person festival at this time, we still wanted to provide people at home with their pollinator fix,” said Catherine Carey, Florida Museum public programs coordinator.

Pollinator Palooza will feature virtual gardening classes, a socially-distanced plant sale and a macro photography workshop.

Ryan Fessenden, the Florida Museum’s “Butterfly Rainforest” manager and butterfly expert, will lead virtual workshops on how to build a better habitat for pollinators. Geared toward both experienced gardeners and beginners, the four workshops are:

“From learning how to tell what kind of habitat and conditions make up your yard to identifying invasive plants and unknown species, there is a great deal for participants to learn from our workshops,” Fessenden said.

Workshops will be conducted via Zoom. Classes are $25 each. Participants can receive a discount by signing up for all four for $75. For more information and to register, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/events/blog/pollinator-palooza-2020.

The curbside plant sale will offer a selection of roughly 100 species of native, host and accent plants. Participants can purchase plants online and pick them up at the museum without leaving their car. Ordering will begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. Participants are encouraged to order early as plant numbers are limited and orders close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. Pickup times can be reserved from Friday, Oct. 16 to Sunday, Oct. 18. For more information, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shops/plants/curbside-sale.

“The plant sale offers a practical opportunity to see in action many of the lessons and ideas that one may learn from the rest of the palooza,” said Fessenden.

pure green sweat bee on leaf
The macro photography workshop will educate participants on how to take an up-close photo in nature, like this image of a pure green sweat bee. ©Alberto Lopez Torres/Florida Museum

Pollinator Palooza will also include a two-day macro photography workshop taught by Florida Museum photography experts Alberto Lopez Torres and Kristen Grace. This hybrid experience consists of a virtual workshop on Oct. 24 from 3 to 5 p.m. that offers an introduction to macro photography and an overview of equipment, tips and tricks, as well as the ethics of nature photography. An optional field experience on Oct. 25 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. allows participants to get in-person instruction shooting macro photography in nature. Masks will be required, and social distancing guidelines will be implemented. Tickets are $60 for the virtual workshop and $40 for the optional field experience.

“Participants will learn how to find their subjects in the virtual session, but the field experience will allow them to put that into practice and feel comfortable photographing them,” Lopez said. “We expect people to use the gardening workshops to create new habitats for pollinators, and together with the skills they’ll learn with our photo workshop, they’ll be able to take beautiful photographs of pollinators from the comfort of their homes!”

For more information or to sign up for the macro photography workshop, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/macro-photo-workshop-virtual.

For more information on Pollinator Palooza and upcoming activities, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/events/blog/pollinator-palooza-2020.

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Writers: Ryan Helterhoff, 352-273-2032, printern@flmnh.ufl.edu; Nikhil Srinivasan, 352-273-2034, nsrinivasan@flmnh.ufl.edu
Sources: Catherine Carey, ccarey@floridamuseum.ufl.edu; Ryan Fessenden, rfessenden@flmnh.ufl.edu
Media Contact: Kaitlin Gardiner, kgardiner@floridamuseum.ufl.edu