Rice Creek Field Station and their friends' group, Rice Creek Associates, are hosting a pollinator-themed festival, and everyone is invited! This festival celebrates the first year of SUNY Oswego's designation as a Bee Campus USA, with fun, creative, and educational activities related to pollinators, native plants, and ways each of us can "bee" a better neighbor to the myriad of bumblebees, bees, butterflies, birds, beetles, and other insects that support food chains, including our own.

The event also features live acoustic music and recreational opportunities like guided nature walks and self-guided trail walking.

Shuttles from Marano Campus Center will be available to transport students and their family and friends to Rice Creek. Parking is available at the field station, but it is limited, so use of the shuttles is encouraged.

Event Details

Activities with Start Times

• Guided Plant-Pollinator Nature Walk - 11 a.m.
• Live acoustic music courtesy of Rose and the Amateurs -- noon to 2 p.m.
• Guided Pollinator Mindfulness Walk - 1 p.m.

Ongoing Activities

• Sample pollinator-produced food and drinks, in partnership with Organic Earthling and Green Planet Grocery
• Create a wooden pro-pollinator yard sign
• Get crafty by making pollinator magnets, origami bookmarks, and upcycled bee hotels
• Explore with a pollinator photo scavenger hunt or self-guided nature walks
• Browse and purchase locally-grown native plants that support pollinators, from Butterfly Effect nursery
• Peruse and purchase local crafts and goods at our pop-up market, featuring local and sustainably grown cut flowers (Henrietta's Homestead), honey and beeswax products (local beekeepers), and sustainable goods made by SUNY Oswego students
• Learn about pollinators, habitat gardening, food forests, and beekeeping at organization tables hosted by Habitat Gardening in CNY (a Wild Ones Chapter), ASLF, and local beekeepers
• Celebrate SUNY Oswego's milestones and programs supporting plants and pollinators with tables (including interactive activities!) from Bee Campus USA, the SeedShare seed library, and the 30-year Rice Creek butterfly survey
• Dive into pollinator diversity and evolution with a Dinosaurs and Pollinators table and displays of insect diversity from Rice Creek's collections
• Pick up a new pollinator or habitat gardening book with the river's end bookstore

Parking and Transportation

Since parking is limited at Rice Creek, SUNY Oswego students and their families and friends are encouraged to use the free van shuttles provided to attend the event, which will run continuously from 11 am to 3 pm, leaving from the Marano Campus Center bus stop to Rice Creek and back. Guests will be dropped off right in front of the field station building. The final return shuttle from Rice Creek will be at 2:45 pm.

For non-SUNY Oswego attendees, parking is available near the Rice Creek building and along one side of the driveway.

Accessibility

Rice Creek Field Station and its surrounding sidewalks and pavilion are ADA accessible. Certain activities, like guided walks, are not ADA or ABA accessible. For questions about accessibility, or to seek accommodations, please contact Rice Creek at rcfs@oswego.edu in advance of the event.