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Pollinator Pals in 2024


(L to R) Ethan Robison, Pollinator Pals Education Coordinator Hannah Borgerson, Education Committee Member Eduardo Tovar, new staff member and Pollinator Pals Community Educator Sara Enriquez, Education Committee Member Isabel Jalamov, Education Committee Member


by Ethan Robison, Pollinator Pals Education Coordinator

December 21, 2024


“What’s important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it, before being asked to heal its wounds.”- David Sobel


Pollinator Project Rogue Valley’s (PPRV) Pollinator Pals program focuses on educating youth in Southern Oregon on the topics of native plants, pollinators, and ecology, and oh boy, did we do that in 2024! 


2024 was the second full year of Pollinator Pals, and in that time, the program has grown and improved, and reached over 2,000 of the amazing kids in the region. I’d like to tell you about some of those lessons, bring up a couple of highlights from the year, and share my gratitude for the amazing people and organizations that have made this year so incredible. 


Of course, lessons are more or less the main point of any education program, bringing students information in a digestible, memorable, and (hopefully) fun way. We have always worked to find and share what we believe to be interesting and worthwhile information, like how insects play a role in riparian ecosystems, or how native pollinators have millenia-long relationships with their ecoregions, or even that some bees drink cow tears. It was hard to narrow the list down to just a few lessons to highlight.


Ethan with students from one of the five McLoughlin Middle School classes (in one day)


We had one lesson this year that was so fun, we ran it five times! Education Committee member, Isabel Jalamov, came up with a game to help kids contextualize the environmental needs of native plants. It works like “red light green light” but with the added challenge of collecting “resource cards” like water, sunlight, and pollinators. The number of each card type needed depends on the real-life needs of the plant they choose. Competition between kids’ plants can already be fierce, but usually the “ecosystem” has enough resources for everyone; at least until non-native plants like Himalayan blackberry or Kentucky bluegrass are introduced, creating even more competition! We ran this lesson at the Provolt Recreation site, Farm Bus Bistro, and 3 local elementary schools. This lesson helps kids understand the impact of invasive plants, as well as connect with a couple of cool native plants and pollinators. 


Students at the Provolt Rec Site playing the native plant game and collecting resource cards


Speaking of interesting things for kids to connect to, we taught about some rad things during some rad classes and events this year! I have some of my own personal favorites, but you’ve heard enough from me for a bit, so I’ll share some of the favorite moments of two of our amazing Pollinator Pals Education Committee members! You can learn more about each of these wonderful people on PPRV’s Team page here.


These are the questions Committee members answered:

  • What is something you enjoyed doing with PPRV this year?

  • What are you looking forward to next year?

  • What is something interesting/cool that you learned about plants/pollinators/ecology this year? 


Sara Enriquez

Sara has been with Pollinator Pals since the beginning. With a long history in public education, we are grateful for her participation and guidance, her spectacular input and ideas, and her sense of humor. She also plays the clarinet very well!


Sara showing the Girl Scouts how to use a microscope


“Kids, bugs, and messing around in the dirt all go together at PPRV.  Helping kids see the connections and interdependence of the species around them is the best part of volunteering here.  A couple highlights for me in the past year have been opportunities to work with school children. Spending a whole day with McLoughlin [Middle School] students, watching their reactions to weird facts, and hearing their questions was one great day.  We presented to the 7th grade science classes who were as entertaining as they were curious.

Outdoors is probably my favorite place to interact with students, though. I particularly loved working with the multi-aged Sylvie's River school group. We compared insect populations at the PPRV garden to those at Blue Heron Park. The coming year will provide us the ability to add depth to a new version of this field trip. With our community garden plot, students will have more garden space to observe and plant and a meeting area for lessons.”


Hannah Borgerson

Hannah is also a founding member of the Pollinator Pals Education Committee. An AmeriCorps member when she joined the team, she is now the Education Program Manager with the Siskiyou Field Institute. Fun fact: Hannah is very good at volleyball! 


Hannah looking like she takes pollinator education very seriously !


“I enjoyed celebrating Earth Day with the students at Ruch Outdoor Community School. Earth Day has become Earth week with all the amazing activities and events PPRV is a part of. I am looking forward to all the classes PPRV is partnering with in the valley. I hope to go visit and help teach in one of the school gardens this spring.”


The people behind the Pollinator Pals program are all incredible and I appreciate them a lot. Their work is what makes our work work! Of course, that work would wind up wasted without the wonderful community here in Southern Oregon. The community partners that we’ve had the pleasure of working with have not only helped us share our lessons with thousands of students, but they have also helped push us to be better educators. Of course, we couldn’t do any of this work without the financial support from the community and partner foundations - I am definitely grateful!  


Sam Inada, PPRV's AmeriCorps member, helping students from Phoenix Elementary identify pollinators in PPRV's demonstration garden this summer


One of our partners in education this year was The Crest at Willow Witt. “The Crest is an educational non-profit organization based at Willow-Witt Ranch. They help visitors of all ages explore their roles and responsibilities in our dynamic local ecosystems.” We worked with Liz Bianco, Christine Brautigam, and other team members at the Crest in five  different classes and taught over 200 students! During these classes, we played pollinator corn hole (with corn hole boards made by Vero Silva at Bee Sweet Blooms), hunted for flower diversity, and even got followed by a herd of goats! During one of these classes, I happened to meet Eduardo, months before we brought him on board as our Pollinator Pals Community Educator! Getting to escape the smoke during late summer, and head up into the mountains to teach kids about bugs was a wonderful experience, and I’m looking forward to working with there again in 2025. Keep an eye out for some cool events we have planned with The Crest next year! 


Students at The Crest meeting goats after a pollinator survey


Another major partner this year was Rogue Valley Farm to School (RVF2S). This great organization “educates children about our food system through hands-on farm and garden programs, and by increasing local foods in school meals.” Thanks to a collaborative grant from The Roundhouse Foundation, we were able to put on some great lessons, create some fun new activities, and revamp 3 school gardens with native plants. We owe a huge thanks to Taylor at Orchard Hill Elementary, Elise at Phoenix Elementary, and Megan at Talent Elementary for inviting us into  their gardens to work with their students. The Xerces Society donated 100 native plants and grasses to this project, helping us create more pollinator habitat in the valley. 


Eduardo (who had also worked with RVF2S) was a huge help during these lessons. He helped run our new game I explained earlier. This gave him the chance to learn about some native plants as well. Our goal is to have students get to see native plants at their school, and through follow up lessons, make new connections with the flora of their community. Hopefully, these plants will attract little critters like bees, butterflies, beetles, flies, and other pollinators, so students can get a peek at the incredible diversity just outside their classroom. 


Students at Orchard Hill Elementary School planting some native shrubs and grasses


We have so many other people and organizations that we’ve had the chance to work with this year. I could fill 5 more pages with all the praise I have for Salmon Watch for their collaboration, Zoey Boyles and Estrella Medrano from Phoenix Elementary School  for providing us with the opportunity to share three lessons for each of their classes, Talent Maker City (TMC) for inviting us to run a summer camp, Armadillo Community Charter School for being amazing and supportive community members, Klamath Outdoor Science School for giving us the opportunity to lead bug hikes with students at Touvelle and McGregor Parks, and to so many more amazing members of the community. 


Students at Phoenix Elementary proudly showing off an tiny bugs and flower parts under the microscope during Summer Camp with TMC.


The people here have made a huge impact on our work at PPRV, and to my life as well. I moved to Jackson County in 2019 from Reno Nevada, and getting to meet and work with so many incredible people here has made this place feel like home. Y’all care a lot about the community, but also the plants and animals here. I am always so excited to meet people who love little critters as much as I do, and I get to meet people like that every day! 


I know that we can all experience burnout from things going on in the world, so, I hope this article will inspire you to also take time to appreciate the community around us, and all the little critters that make it all work. 


Eduardo Tovar, Pollinator Pals Community Educator Ethan Robison, Pollinator Pals Education Coordinator



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