Dear Great Sunflower Project Friends,
It has been a while since we have been in touch regularly, and I want to begin with a simple thank you.
Because of people like you — gardeners, teachers, naturalists, students, families, and careful observers across the country — the Great Sunflower Project has built one of the most important community science records of pollinators in North America. Every time someone watches a flower and records what visits, we learn a little more about where pollinators are doing well and where they may need help.
This year, we are getting back into the garden together.
Our first request is simple:
**Please do one pollinator count this week.**
Choose a flower in your yard, school garden, local park, community garden, or favorite walking spot. Watch it for at least five minutes. Count the number of pollinator visits you see. Then enter your count at GreatSunflower.org.
And remember: if you watch a flower and see no pollinators, that is important too. Those “zero” counts help us understand the full picture.
You do not need to be a bee expert. You do not need a perfect garden. You do not even need a sunflower in bloom yet. You can count on any flowering plant, and you can identify pollinators as simply or as specifically as you feel comfortable.
This spring and summer, we are especially hoping to learn:
Which flowers are helping pollinators most?
How do pollinator visits differ from place to place?
Where are bees, flies, butterflies, and other flower visitors abundant — and where are they scarce?
What is changing in our gardens, schools, parks, and neighborhoods?
If you have participated before, welcome back. If it has been years since your last count, that is perfectly fine. The best time to begin again is when the next flower opens.
Here are three easy ways to help right now:
1. Do one 5-minute pollinator count.
2. Invite a friend, neighbor, student, or grandchild to count with you.
3. Tell us what is blooming where you are.
We are also working on making the Great Sunflower Project easier to use, easier to teach with, and more useful for everyone who cares about pollinators. More on that soon. For now, we would simply love to see your observations coming in again.
Thank you for watching, counting, planting, teaching, and caring.
Bee Well,
Gretchen
The Queen Bee
The Great Sunflower Project
Together, we make every count count.
No longer want Great Sunflower Project updates?