March Update & Incentives Coming!

Hi supporters of Pollinators!

There isn't a whole lot to report on application count at this point since winter is generally a slooooooow time for pollinators... and pollinator plates. Without many opportunities to get out and show the plates to people, influx of applications slows down to a trickle.

But that's okay! Many local nature and wildlife groups have offered to include something in their Spring newsletters about the plates, and I can't thank them enough! Any exposure is a fabulous thing, whether it's a newspaper, newsletter, forwarded email, word of mouth, etc. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Another fun tidbit is that I finally went through my massive pile of recent emails and finished adding everyone who has contacted me to my contacts list. We now have 570 people who have said they want pollinator plates! Of those 570 people, 317 are in my "not received" list. I send monthly reminders, but I don't like to BUG people (even though some people call me the bug girl...). So... what's a bug girl to do?

I've decided to offer an incentive. I'm going to do a drawing and the winner will receive a copy of Gunther Hauk's "Toward Saving the Honey Bee." If you've seen "Queen of the Sun" or "Vanishing of the Bees," then you've heard Gunther talk about his bees and his ideas on how we can save them. (And if you HAVEN'T seen those movies- why not!? See them! And then tell everyone else to see them! This is important stuff!)

To be entered into the drawing, all you have to do is send me your completed application. That's it! If you send more than one (for multiple vehicles), you'll be entered more than once. One application = one entry into the drawing. Because each one counts toward our goal of 450. (I'll send out an email about this, too.) Once I have 25 applications, I'll close the drawing and pick a winner.

I'll write down the names of applicants on slips of paper and film myself doing the draw. Then I'll contact the winner and mail them the book!

I purchased the book (well, two of them- one for me and one for a lucky winner) last weekend at the Honeybee Fundraiser event for Gunther's Honeybee Sanctuary in Floyd, VA. I drove about an hour and a half to Lewis Ginter Botanic Garden down in Richmond, had a fabulous lunch catered by Whole Foods, sat a table full of beekeeper dudes (and tried to take in all of the interesting bee things they talked about), and then got to listen to Gunther speak about nature... science.... love... bees... for about an hour. And he even threw in some jokes. If you have an opportunity to hear him speak, I strongly suggest you do so- even if you don't keep bees! I'm not a beekeeper, but I'm concerned about them (obvs!) and always want to hear more about how to help them out.


(If you've already sent in your application, fear not! I intend to do another drawing for a different prize from the list of those who have already sent in applications at this point. I just haven't figured out the prize and details yet. I hope to announce that soon.)