The Great Southeast Pollinator Census

Before summer comes to an end, we're blocking off time on our calendars to hang out in the garden for The Great Southeast Pollinator Census! The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is a citizen project out of the University of Georgia that aims to collect data about local pollinator populations. This year's census is coming up on August 22nd - 23rd and we want you to join us!

A Brief History

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census started years ago when project coordinator, Becky Griffin, was working  in community and school gardens and discovered there was a lack of knowledge about insect ecosystems among gardeners. After two years of pilot programs, the first official census was conducting in Georgia in 2019. Since then, the census has grown across the Southeast to include South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, and Alabama!

Join the Count

Participating in the census is easy and you can sleep soundly at night knowing you helped make a difference in pollinator conservation! Prepare for the census by downloading the counting sheet and reading through the insect identification guide. To partake in the census on August 22nd or 23rd simply choose a pollinator plant to monitor and sit in your garden for 15 minutes and count the insects that land on your chosen plant! Once you've collected your data, upload it to the census website! If you don't have a pollinator plant with active insects in your space, come count with us at Meeting Green!

Learn More

Back in June, we chatted with Amy Dabbs, the South Carolina census coordinator, about the importance of planting for pollinators and learned all about The Great Southeast Pollinator Census! We talked about how the data is being used in classrooms for pollinator research and got an inside look at the census going global! Amy and other census coordinators met with researchers in London who are conducting similar studies and are hoping to compare data this year. While their climate across the pond is very different, we should all be able to find oregano in bloom this August! So, if you have blooming oregano in your garden, use it for your count and your numbers will be compared with counts in London! You can listen to our chat and reach out to Amy with any questions at adabbs@clemson.edu.