I-Pollinate training in Yorkville set for May 15

The University of Illinois Extension invites lovers of bees, butterflies and other pollinators to join scientists in tracking their distribution and habitat use across the state, from the comfort of your home, balcony, school or community garden.

In-person or online training for I-Pollinate will teach you how to determine types of pollinators, identify monarch caterpillar stages and collect data for the different projects. A May 15 in-person training will be at the Kendall County Extension office, 7775B IL Route 47, Yorkville, about one mile south of Route 71. Efforts will help inform conservation plans and how to plant gardens for pollinator habitat.

I-Pollinate is a community science research initiative run through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Program volunteers can join up to three projects:

• Monarch response to garden variability – Collect data on monarch egg and larva abundance in order to better understand gardens’ role in monarch conservation.
• Pollinator attraction to ornamental flowers – Observe pollinator visits to ornamental flower species to help evaluate which species attract pollinators and create the best environment to host butterflies, bees and flies.
• Bee demographics and distributions – Take photos to help the BeeSpotter program establish long-term monitoring of Illinois honey bee and bumble bee populations. Learn more at BeeSpotter.org.

Learn more or register for the May 15 training at ipollinate.illinois.edu/step-2-register. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate, contact 630-553-5823 or email fellerer@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for meeting access needs.