Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026
Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Ice House Building in Downtown Harrisonburg (127 West Bruce Street Entrance), Pale Fire Brewing Company, & Drifters Café
Join us for the fourth annual Pollinators in Your Yard event, taking place in Downtown Harrisonburg at the Ice House building, Pale Fire Brewing Co., and Drifters Café! This event, which celebrates ongoing efforts to support Harrisonburg as a pollinator-friendly city, is full of information and activities that the whole family may enjoy.
The event kicks off with a discussion about pollinator-friendly initiatives happening around the City of Harrisonburg. Learn details about specific pollinator animal species found in Harrisonburg's green spaces and the plant species that support them, and recent pollinator project collaborations that have taken place in around the community!
Also, spend time visiting interactive education stations to learn more about pollinators and what you may do in your own green space! Admission is free.
- Play Pollinator BINGO - Visit Education Stations for a chance to win prizes! Pick up your BINGO Card at the event's welcome table at the Ice House!
- Education Station Map [5.5MB]
- Event Parking is available in the West Bruce Street parking lot, Water Street Parking Deck, Harrisonburg City Hall Parking Lot, and Harrisonburg Electric Commission Lot in appropriate parking spots. Please pay attention to public parking signage guidelines/time-frames.
2026 Schedule of Events!
Informative Talks - Ice House Building, 127 West Bruce Street Entrance
1:00pm - Kickoff Discussion - Harrisonburg's Pollinator Program, An Update - Harrisonburg City Staff
- 1:15pm- 2:15pm - Talk 1 - Trinity Presbyterian Church Bioretention, A Panel Discussion
- As an Earth Care Congregation, Trinity Presbyterian Church support pollinators with a dedicated Pollinator Garden. Church members will share their experiences and discuss the importance of these habitats in public spaces. Each presenter contributes unique insights to the garden's growth and maintenance.
2:30pm - 3:30pm - Talk 2 – Building a Pollinator Haven at Home: A Conversation With Local Home Gardeners Making It Happen
Facilitator: Lee Brown (Assistant Professor, JMU Biology)
Panel guests: Heather Griscom (Professor, JMU Biology; Franklin St), Chris O’Brien (Director of UX & AI Architect; Ott St), and Jennifer Cottrell (Gardening Connection; Myers Ave)
Since the early-mid 2000’s, efforts to support native pollinators have been growing nationwide across cities, managed natural areas, and in residential yards. In Harrisonburg, the growing prevalence of city and home gardens stocked with milkweeds, wild bergamot, goldenrods and other native and pollinator-friendly plant species reflects this growing trend. In this panel discussion, three Harrisonburg residents share trials, tribulations and lessons learned in creating productive pollinator habitat in their yards. The path to supporting pollinators in one’s own outdoor space, however large or small, is not linear nor does it have to be lonely. Join this conversation to learn from neighbors, share your own success stories and challenges, and get inspired to create or enhance your pollinator haven at home.
- Education Stations – 1:00pm – 4:00pm - Beside and inside the Ice House Building (127 West Bruce Street entrance), Pale Fire Brewing Company, and Drifters Café
- Bee Photography - Scott Jost
- Blue Ridge PRISM
- Central Shenandoah Valley Extension Master Gardeners
- City of Harrisonburg
- Edith J. Carrier Arboretum
- Girl Scout Troop 1234
- Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance
- Harrisonburg Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Coalition
- Horizon Gifts
- JMU Bee Campus
- JMU Geography Club
- Massanutten Regional Library
- Renew Rocktown
- The Natural Garden
- VA Native Plant Society - Anna Maria Johnson
- Virginia Department of Forestry
- Virginia Master Naturalists - Shenandoah Valley
Upcoming
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