{"id":1421,"date":"2026-02-17T10:22:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/?p=1421"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:22:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:22:31","slug":"become-a-pollinator-expert-and-protect-the-souths-smallest-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/2026\/02\/become-a-pollinator-expert-and-protect-the-souths-smallest-neighbors\/","title":{"rendered":"Become a Pollinator Expert and Protect the South\u2019s Smallest Neighbors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Gabrielle LaTora, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"yellow<\/a>
Did you know we have over 500 species of native bees in Georgia? Learn about our amazing insect fauna in the 2026 Great Southeast Pollinator Course!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ready to become a pollinator pro? If you love pollinators\u2014or want to\u2014this 7-week virtual course will transform the way you see your garden, greenspace, and the tiny creatures that power them. Led by experts in their insect fields, you will learn more, see more, and become a more confident Census<\/a> counter. Learn from the experts at UGA and join a network of thousands protecting our local ecosystems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Register now for the 2026 Great Southeast Pollinator Course!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This webinar series gives participants the chance to dive deeper into the fascinating insects we count during the Census\u2014exploring their identification, ecology, and the essential roles they play in our ecosystems. This course has been years in the making and was inspired by requests from Extension agents across the region who wanted a deeper learning opportunity connected to the Census. We are so excited to finally bring it to life!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"GSEPC<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2026 Course Schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This course will be presented as a Zoom webinar each Tuesday from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. EDT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 16, 2026
Carpenter Bees<\/strong>
Dr. Bethany Harris and Whitney Ottinger<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 23rd
Bumble Bees<\/strong>
Avery Young and Becky Griffin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 30th
Butterflies<\/strong>
Dr. Sonia Altizer and Jeremy Rhoden<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 7th
Small Bees<\/strong>
Dr. Kris Braman and Amanda Bratcher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 14th
Honey Bees<\/strong>
Dr. Jamie Ellis and Bethany O’Rear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 21st
Flies & Wasps<\/strong>
Dr. Scott Clem, Dr. Jason Schmidt, and Gabrielle LaTora<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 28th
Beetles and Other Insects<\/strong>
Dr. Joe McHugh
Course Wrap-up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important Info<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • For those who cannot make the scheduled time, recordings of each session will be posted by Friday of that week.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The cost of the course is $50 and the commitment that you will lead, assist, or participate in a Great Southeast Pollinator Census event this year, August 21st or 22nd, 2026, if you live in one of the Census states (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama or Florida). If you live outside of the Southeast, please join us for just the course fee.\u00a0 If the cost is a burden for you, please email Becky Griffin at beckygri@uga.edu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Upon course completion, you will have earned a course certificate.\u00a0 The course is equivalent to 1+ PLU for educators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Gabrielle LaTora, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent Ready to become a pollinator pro? If you love pollinators\u2014or want to\u2014this 7-week virtual course will transform the way you see your garden, greenspace, and the tiny creatures that power them. Led by experts in their insect fields, you will learn more, see more, and become a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,6,34,16,4,26,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation","category-entomology","category-environmental-education","category-native-plants","category-ornamental","category-perennials","category-pollinator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1421"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1424,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions\/1424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/fultonag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}