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BECKY GRIFFIN
M
the locavore
Stop and Watch the Flowers
UGA EXTENSION ORGANIZES FIRST EVER POLLINATOR CENSUS
By Dan Jackson news@flagpole.com
Georgians paused recently to take a closer
look at individual flowering plants to
observe and count pollinators visiting their
gardens as part of the first census of these
tiny creatures that are vital to the food
chain.
More than 4,500 Georgia students and
gardeners responded to the call for volun
teers to count pollinators in their gardens.
For 15 minutes, they watched for butter
flies, bees and other pollinators that alit
on the petals of a single flowering plant.
Census takers may have been surprised to
be asked to count wasps, flies and moths,
but these insects also pollinate certain
plants. Early reports show that the amateur
entomologists observed more than 133,000
insects.
Becky Griffin, the school and community
garden coordinator for the UGA Extension
Service, conducted pilot projects for two
years to encourage participation among stu
dents and gardeners. Griffin modeled the
census on the Great Backyard Bird Count, a
program run by Cornell University that asks
people to count the birds they see in their
backyard on a specific winter day.
Griffin reports that “citizen scientists”
from the entire state recorded the types of
pollinators, the type of plant they observed,
the time of day, the weather and the loca
tion. The primary goal was to establish
a baseline of research about pollinator
populations, and to create the first state
wide insect census in the nation. Once the
researchers crunch the data, they expect
to obtain a benchmark that they can use to
compare the results of future censuses and
observe population trends.
Scientists widely agree that pollinators
are under pressure as a result of habitat
loss, pollution and insecticides, and con
servation groups are taking up the cause to
improve their lot. UGA economists found
in a 2015 study that these pollinators con
tribute about $360 million to the state’s
economy. Without pollinators, many flow
ering plants—including food crops—can’t
reproduce.
Griffin lights up when talking about the
unexpectedly good response to the pro
gram, saying she was particularly gratified
that so many citizen scientists became
involved. “We had a lot of people that
planted gardens to attract pollinators with
floral resources a year in advance in antici
pation of the census,” says Griffin.
“One of our goals of the census was to
increase the entomological literacy of our
residents, to show people how import
ant insects are in our gardens,” she says.
“Raising awareness of the insects is key.
People are unaware of the nesting habitats
of our native bees, and I hope that people
will learn to identify types of bees and how
to create new habi
tat for them. Wasps
have a role, too, and
are terrific predators
of aphids and other
pests.”
STEM teacher
Diane Parr’s students
at Colham Ferry
Elementary School
in Watkinsville prac
ticed for the census
for two weeks and
were excited to make
history. “The students
were wowed by what
they witnessed in the
garden,” Parr says.
Numerous orga
nizations have
responded to the
news that pollina
tor populations are
being threatened
and have promoted
recommendations
on their websites. The National Geographic
Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Smithsonian and many other organi
zations provide online suggestions of ways
to increase and diversify pollinator popula
tions. The UGA Extension Service teamed
up with the Warnell School of Forestry to
publish an illustrated online guide with
specific suggestions on how to create a bee
habitat.
Griffin says she was amazed at the num
ber of people who submitted their census
forms. “I am grateful for all the Georgia cit
izens who were willing to give up their time
to support our pollinators,” she says.
Kris Braman, head of UGA’s Department
of Entomology, was also gratified by the
response. “When we were talking about the
value of the work of our citizen scientists,
the educational aspect is as important to
me as the baseline data,” she says. “When
people sit there for 15 minutes and watch
for pollinators, it’s a game-changer in the
way they perceive their gardens and the
insects that live in those spaces. I think the
project was a huge success.”
Both Braman and Griffin said they hope
to build on the success of the first census
with follow-up counts in the years to come. ©
A student at Laurel Springs Elementary School in Decatur counts pollinators.
Fall 2019
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