{"id":178,"date":"2023-08-18T10:56:58","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T14:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fayette\/?p=178"},"modified":"2023-08-18T10:56:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T14:56:59","slug":"join-us-for-the-pollinator-census-saturday-august-19-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fayette\/2023\/08\/join-us-for-the-pollinator-census-saturday-august-19-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Join Us for the Pollinator Census Saturday, August 19, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Come join us for our pollinator party on Saturday, August 19th from 9am-12pm at the Education Garden in Fayetteville. We will have opportunities available for you to conduct the census, do fun crafts, take tours in the garden, and take home a free plant or seed packet (one per family, while supplies last). If you are unable to come, please consider counting pollinators at home! For more information on the Great Southeast Pollinator Census and how to become involved, visit\u00a0gsepc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please see below a wonderful article written by Maria Lameiras highlighting the census and recognition by the governor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kim Toal, is the Fayette County Extension Coordinator and Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources. For more information on gardening in Fayette County, contact Fayette County Extension at 770-305-5412 or online at\u00a0www.ugaextension.org\/fayette<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Great Southeast Pollinator Census recognized by Georgia governor<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Maria M. Lameiras<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published on 08\/17\/23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Beck
UGA Extension coordinator and census creator Becky Griffin holds a commendation from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp honoring the Great Southeast Pollinator Census citizen-science initiative, which is in its fifth year. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census<\/a>, which will be held Aug. 18 and 19 this year, received a commendation from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in advance of the annual event\u2019s fifth anniversary. The governor honored the contributions of the citizen-science project to the continued health of pollinators in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA University of Georgia Cooperative Extension<\/a> project, the Census has expanded<\/a> from the original 2019 Great Georgia Pollinator Census to including South Carolina in 2022, and now North Carolina for the fifth annual event, with future expansions into Florida and Tennessee also being planned,\u201d the commendation reads. \u201cThe census does important work to support the nearly $488 million worth of pollination in Georgia by bringing recognition to the important role of pollinators and education on practices to preserve these insects and their habitats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its first year, the number of participants in the count has steadily grown, from 4,698 participants counting 131,844 insects in Georgia in 2019 to 8,671 participants counting 139,502 insects throughout Georgia and in several South Carolina counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was truly honored to receive the commendation and appreciate Gov. Kemp’s support of the pollinator census. The commendation is really for all the census participants who sweat in their gardens counting insects in August,\u201d said Becky Griffin<\/a>, UGA Extension community and school garden coordinator and creator of the census<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin also announced that Don Hunter, a hydrogeologist and environmental scientist who is retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has been chosen as the Grand Marshal for the 2023 count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hunter, \u201ca tireless advocate for pollinators and the pollinator census,\u201d according to Griffin, has participated in the census since its inception and is a regular contributor of photography to the project\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Beck
Becky Griffin presents Athens resident Don Hunter with a plaque naming him the Grand Marshal of the 2023 Great Southeast Pollinator Census. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He is an active member of the Nature Ramblers<\/a> group at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and a contributor to the group\u2019s blog. Having no flower gardens to speak of at his house, Hunter has conducted most of his counts on roadside and utility rights-of-way near his home close to Athens, Griffin shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon Hunter is the perfect person to represent the pollinator census as this year’s Grand Marshal. He works tirelessly to educate others on the importance of pollinators, and he constantly advocates for the importance of the census,\u201d Griffin added. \u201cDon does multiple counts each year and he is famous for encouraging others to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local events are being planned around the state to coincide with the count this year, Griffin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following are a few examples of census events:<\/p>\n\n\n\n