Quick Start Guide

Welcome to the Great Sunflower Project

You are now part of a community of gardeners, beekeepers, birders, and naturalists building the world’s best dataset on plants and pollinators.

The most valuable contribution you can make is to visit the same site regularly — your yard, a favorite park, or a wild area — and do pollinator counts on the plants there. Over time, your records become a living portrait of your local pollinator community.
🌱 Step 1 — Out in the field
1

Record when and where

Note the date, time, and your location before you begin.

2

Choose a plant to watch

Write down the plant type, using either the common name or scientific name. Decide how many flowers you will watch and record that number too. For plants with flower clusters or spikes, count the individual blooms in the bunch.

3

Start your timer and count visits

Once you are settled, start timing and count every pollinator that visits your flowers. Record the type of pollinator if you can — but only be specific if you are certain. If a pollinator leaves and comes right back, count it again: we want the number of visits, not the number of individuals.

Aim for at least 5 minutes

Saw no pollinators? Please record that too — zero counts are some of the most important data we collect. They help us track where and when pollinators are absent.
💻 Step 2 — Enter your data - you can do this out in the field or back inside.

Log in at www.GreatSunflower.org and click Add a Count. Follow these four steps:

Step 1

Count type & location

  • Select Stationary as your count type.
  • Choose your observation duration. A built-in timer is available on the site.
  • Identify your location: select a previous site or pin a new one on the map.
  • Click Next.
Step 2

Plant information

  • Enter the number of flowers you watched.
  • Enter the plant type. The smart search box will offer suggestions.
  • Click Next.
Step 3

What you saw

  • Use the green buttons to record each type of pollinator and the number of visits.
  • Saw more than one species of a given type? Use the “I saw another pollinator” link.
  • Saw nothing? Check the box — zero counts matter.
  • Click Next.
Step 4

Finish up

  • Enter the total number of minutes you observed.
  • Click Finish.
  • You can review and correct anything on the confirmation screen.

Ready to submit your first count? Log in to record your observations and join thousands of citizen scientists tracking pollinators across North America.

Log in to add a count →