Becky Griffin acknowledges there’s no shortage of bad news about environmental issues, including a decline in bees, butterflies and other pollinators that are vital to our food supply. But her job is mostly about spreading good news – and empowering people.
Griffin founded the Great Southeast Pollinator Census, which is happening this weekend, will give people across the Southeast a chance to help with pollinator conservation. Volunteers will pick a plant, observe it for 15 minutes and note every pollinating insect that lands on it during that time. Then they’ll submit the tally through the project’s website.
Even with a heat wave on, participating in the census can be easy, Griffin said.
“I'm just encouraging people get out early and make sure you have your sun hat and some sweet tea – and it's just 15 minutes,” she said.
Some census takers even count after dark by observing night-flying pollinators like moths, she said. People can attend group events or head out into their own yards.
The census is an annual event that started in Georgia in 2018 and has been picking up states ever since. Alabama joined last year. The census typically takes place over two days but was extended this year. It starts Friday and goes through Monday.
Griffin said some people worry they don’t know enough about insects to be a counter. But the state extension services that run the project have developed some quick lessons.
For instance, Griffin said, carpenter bees and bumblebees look a lot alike, but: “If it has a shiny hiney, it's a carpenter bee. If it has a fuzzy rear, it's a bumblebee.”
Those who participate might also learn that some insects they thought of as pests are actually beneficial. And providing that kind of education is one of the project’s goals.
“Most people will look at our insect counting sheet and say, ‘Why are we looking at flies? No one likes flies,’” Griffin said.
But some of them are doing a lot of work.
“They're moving some pollen around for you, which is really good,” Griffin explained. “But they're also laying eggs in your garden, and the resulting fly larva from those eggs love to eat things like aphids and white flies. Aphids and white flies are pests in our vegetable gardens, especially.”
Wasps are pollinators that protect vegetables, too, she said, because they hunt and kill worms.
Another purpose of the census is gathering and sharing data. The project’s website displays county-level data that city planners are using to design pollinator-friendly green spaces.
“We also have grad students and researchers who are using this data as part of the overall research on things like honeybees,” Griffin said, adding that the data is helping scientists answer important questions. “Are carpenter bees more in urban populations or rural populations? And what about our native bees? Over time, how are they faring in different areas?”
Another objective is to create more pollinator habitat – because habitat loss from residential and commercial development is a major cause of pollinator decline.
“The southeast is real popular place right now,” Griffin said. “We have a lot of people moving in from a lot of different places. The landscapers will put in plants that are ecologically void. They don't really help any of the insects or any of the wildlife.”
But the census is helping to change that by getting people in tune with what pollinators need, Griffin said. Those people then alter their habits, she continued, by doing things such as growing native plants and reducing pesticide use.
“An individual can make a huge, true difference in pollinator conservation just with what they're doing in their yards,” Griffin said. “And that, to me, is the most important part and the big win of the project.”
