Week explores importance of pollinators

CARLSBAD — Did you know a tiny fly no bigger than the head of a pin is responsible for the world’s supply of chocolate? Offering a variety of educational hands-on activities and informational displays, the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center, 1580 Cannon Road, will host the local celebration of National Pollinator Week June 22 through June 28. The event is to increase public awareness about the critical role played by pollinators in producing the world’s food supply, the importance of pollinators to healthy wildlife ecosystems, and some of the critical challenges pollinators face for survival.
Activities and displays will focus on the honeybee crisis, understanding the importance of pollination, live caterpillar metamorphosis, making honeycomb candles and hummingbird nests, pollinator-related crafts, puzzles, games, movies and face-painting.
On June 25, the Discovery Center will host an adult-oriented lecture on the important of insects and pollination, given by Dr. Michael Wall, head of Entomology at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Admission is free.
On June 27, the lineup will include a beekeeper with a live beehive and a hummingbird and bat display. In addition, docent-led tours of the Discovery Center’s extensive native plant garden will offer practical tips for how to plant a pollinator-friendly landscape and attract pollinators to the backyard. Admission is $2 per child for non-members.