© Loree Griffin Burns
Attention Citizen Scientists!
The Great Sunflower Project, an initiative designed to help scientists understand local pollinator populations by recruiting bee-spotters across the country, gets underway this month. In order to participate, you must be willing to plant sunflower seeds (provided), tend them, and once they bloom, watch them. Yep, watch them. Twice a month, participants are asked to observe their sunflowers and record how long it takes for five bees to arrive.
In the words of Gretchen LeBuhn, professor at San Francisco State University and director of The Great Sunflower Project, “We know very little about bee activity in home and community gardens and their surrounding environments, but we are certain that they are a crucial link in the survival of native habitats and local produce, not to mention our beautiful urban gardens. Our local pollinator populations require our understanding & protection, and to answer that call we need to determine where and when they are at work.”
The Great Sunflower Project website has loads more information on the project and how to participate. Check it out, and spread the word!