The Pollinator Palooza Takes Flight: A New Event Celebrating Pollinators and Friends of Pollinators in the Southwest!

by Tanner Johnson and Melanie Gisler, December 2024

IAE hosted our first ever Pollinator Palooza event in October 2024 at our new Southwest office space. The event showcased pollinators of all kinds and celebrated the partners and volunteers who support their conservation!

What exactly is a Pollinator Palooza? For us, this is a festive event bringing together our peers and local community to connect and enjoy a unique dining experience while learning about pollinators, their conservation, and the amazing things they do for the world.

Our Menu! The focal point of the Palooza was foods that we enjoy thanks to pollinators. A New Mexico cuisine from local businesses (Posas, La Guelaguetza, and Pan de Vida) was featured alongside its pollinators: Calabacitas enchiladas were made possible by the specialized pollination of the squash bee; big thanks to the smallest featured pollinator, the chocolate midge for its role in Chocolate Mole; Fig Salad was a prize from fig wasp pollination; night-pollinating native bats gave us a refreshing Lechuguilla agave beverage; and a delicious Tres Leches desert was brought to us by the vanilla orchid bee.

**Pollinators as “Farmers”**—Did you know that when the female yucca moth is ready to lay eggs, she uses a set of atypical tentacles near her mouth to collect pollen from a yucca flower and forms it into a ball? She then flies to another flower and places her pollen ball on the female part of the plant, intentionally fertilizing it. She will lay her eggs in that same flower so her larvae have a meal of yucca seeds waiting upon hatch. People can use the flowers, fruits, seeds, stalks and roots for a variety of uses, and many parts of the plant are edible.

Lightning talks light-up the evening —These punchy 5-10 minute-long presentations from experts in the field were another high point of the event. Simon Doneski (University of New Mexico, Lightfoot Lab) presented on the recently developed New Mexico Rare Arthropod Resource, a tool to learn more about and protect the rare, threatened, and endemic arthropods of New Mexico, while Quin Baine (also with the Lightfoot Lab) shared the value of long-term pollinator monitoring in places like Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico. IAE Restoration Ecologist Emily Rees highlighted an impressive large-scale River for Monarchs habitat restoration project underway covering 200 miles of the Rio Grande River. Olivia Carril, author of Bees in Your Backyard, dazzled us as usual with her research on wild bees and their importance to New Mexico’s ecosystems.

Partner Booth and Displays—Another way participants learned about pollinators and native plant species and engaged with experts on their conservation work was by perusing native pollinator displays and collecting informative materials at partner booths, including: Xerces Society, Plants of the Southwest, Bat Conservation International, UNM Lighfoot lab, and Kristin Birdshire with Veridian Ecology.

Poster Presentations—IAE staff and youth crew members presented research posters sharing recent projects, from rare plant pollinator research to pollinator garden implementation. These displays generated fruitful discussions about gaps and opportunities in pollinator research and restoration.

Tours and Special Guests—IAE’s Southwest Plant Materials Ecologist, Lani DuFresne, provided tours of our seed cleaning lab and guests were invited to tour our new office space. Special guests visiting from our Oregon office included our new Executive Director, Keith Norris, Chief Scientist, Tom Kaye, and Advancement Coordinator, Evan Lasley.

Prizes!—The evening was topped-off with a drawing of raffle prizes generously donated by Dryland Wilds, Kei and Molly Textiles, New Mexico River Adventures, and Santa Fe Botanical Garden. Raffle tickets went for $1/ticket, giving everyone a chance at winning a prize related to native plants, pollinators, or the outdoors.

From learning about pollinators to mingling with others, the evening offered something for everyone. Partners from various agencies and organizations said how much they appreciated the chance to network connect with others working on pollinator conservation and restoration efforts and noted how uncommon it is to gather such a diverse range of groups—whose work often overlaps but who seldom meet in person, in one room. Volunteers, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and community partners shared stories, built connections, and celebrated the collective impact of their efforts to support pollinators and their habitats—reminding us that together we can make a meaningful difference for pollinators, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.

Thank you to everyone who made Pollinator Palooza such a success—partners, IAE staff, restaurants, and participants and IAE’s Board of Directors for supporting the event. A special thanks to Tyler Turk, former IAE Ecologist, for creating the pollinator-themed food posters and artwork!

Will there be another Palooza? Yes! In fact, next year we plan to expand and engage the broader community in our conservation mission, possibly with a multiday event that includes hands-on activities for children. Because lightning talks were such a hit, we will have these in a larger space so that more people can attend. We are so excited to have the opportunity to share our work and the work of our partners through this fun and engaging venue. Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2025 Pollinator Palooza!