On Aug. 23-24, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and State Botanical Gardens’ Protect to Connect program are hosting campus pollinator counts as part of the UGA Extension Great Georgia Pollinator Census.
The census is a statewide pollinator count that is modeled after the Cornell University Backyard Bird Count. Organizers have recruited citizen scientists from schools, garden clubs and conservation groups to spend 15 minutes on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 watching one blooming plant and keeping track of the pollinators they see. This information will be compiled with data from observers from across the state to give researchers a clearer picture of pollinator health in Georgia’s cities, rural areas and suburbs.
Georgians can count by themselves in their back or front yards or join a group count. UGA group campus count will be held between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the native pollinator garden between the Pharmacy South and Environmental Health Sciences buildings.
Protect to Connect will provide clipboards and identification help during the 15-minute count. Would-be counters can RSVP to Lauren Mueller at lvmuller@uga.edu.
