This post is based off content developed by Amanda Wilkins, Extension Agent, Lee County Center.

Join us as the Extension Office (721 Foster St, Durham, NC) to participate in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census! The Extension Master Gardener volunteers of Durham County and  community partners will be on hand August 24 to share information about pollinators and native plant. Stop by between 9am and 1pm to learn about pollinators and help us collector pollinator counts!

“Pollinators are under threat.” We hear it more and more from scientists and the news. If you haven’t heard, you’ve probably at least noticed that your windshield has stayed a lot cleaner over the last couple of decades. What is important to understand from this is that our survival as humans is linked with insect diversity and survival. How do scientists know insect populations are declining (besides the cleaner windshields)? They count them!

Now, scientists aren’t out there counting each and every one in an ecosystem. That is a Herculean task at least. At any given time there are about 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) insects on Earth at any given time, according to the Entomological Society of America (ESA). More than 60 percent of the total species in the world are insects, with estimates speculating there are between 3-6 million species left to describe! Needless to say, that is a lot, and scientists need all the help they can get!

How can you help?

Queue the Great Southeast Pollinator Census! This simple citizen science project is an easy gateway for anyone interested in helping scientists. It is only two days each year. This year it is August 23 and 24.

All participants do is observe a plant that has pollinators visiting it for 15 minutes and tally each time an insect lands on the plant using the pre-designed data sheet (available for free download on the Census website). The data sheet has pictures of what each insect is, so you don’t even have to know the names of the insects. Upload your counts to the GSEPC website afterwards using the QR code at the top of the page. It's just that easy!

Bombus pennsylvanicus American Bumblebee_Photo by Amanda Wilkins

You can do it anywhere where there is a plant with insects visiting it: your garden, a local park, a nature trail, or a botanical garden. You can take a Census on as many plants as you want within the two-day window.

Where can folks in Durham County do the Census?

There are so many places you can do the Census in Durham County. Besides your backyard, garden or woods, you can bring your data sheet and visit one of our local parks, or check out one of our local nurseries to see what is in flower.

To learn more about pollinators (whether you're going to do the Census or not!), join us at Briggs Avenue Community Garden for a Pollinator Identification Workshop on Saturday, August 3rd (9 - 10:30 am). For more details and to register.

You can also join us as the Extension Office (721 Foster St, Durham, NC) to observe in our Demonstration Garden. The Extension Master Gardener volunteers of Durham County and a number of community partners will be on hand August 24 to share information about pollinators and native plants and help you with your count. Stop by between 9am and 1pm to learn about pollinators and take part in the census!

Where did the Census come from?

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census first came to North Carolina in 2023. Becky Griffin at UGA Extension started the Census in Georgia in 2017 as a pilot program with local community gardens and schools. She realized gardeners were excited to learn about the plants, but were oftentimes oblivious to the insects in their gardens, beyond the ones that were pests. She devised the Census program to raise awareness and literacy around insects in the garden, and to empower everyday citizens to use their powers of observation to gather data for scientific research. The Census website contains the data from past years and the research papers that have been published using those data.We hope you can join us this year by counting insects in this year’s Census. If you have questions about the Census or how you can incorporate the Census into programming with your organization, please contact Ashley Troth at N.C. Cooperative Extension, Durham County Center at ashley_troth@ncsu.edu.

References

Numbers of Insects – Smithsonian Institute

Great Southeast Pollinator Census

Pollinator Partnership

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation in Yards and Gardens Guide