Tips for Engagement:
- Organize a Group Count: Designate a specific time during the Census dates for all interested garden members to count pollinators together. Make it a social event! Vegetables can be counted for the Census too!
- Identify Key Plants: Before the Census, identify which plants in the community garden are most attractive to pollinators and focus your counting efforts there.
- Share Your Data: Encourage all members to upload their counts to the GSePC website and share their observations with each other.
- Generic Guidance about what makes a Successful Census Program for Community Organizers
- Need some quick and easy resources for your Census event? Check out our Pollinator Outreach Kit item list.
Activities to Build Momentum:
- Pollinator Patch Project: As a garden, dedicate a plot or section to a "pollinator patch" with diverse native flowering plants.
- Seed Swaps & Plant Sales: Organize a seed swap or plant sale focused on native, pollinator-friendly plants leading up to the Census.
- Educational Sessions: Invite a local Extension Master Gardener volunteer or Extension Agent to speak about pollinator gardening and the Census at a community garden meeting.
Utilizing Extension- and Research-Based Resources:
- N.C. Cooperative Extension: Access Extension resources on pollinator-friendly gardening, including plant selection and pesticide alternatives.
- "The Pollinator Checklist" (NC State Researchers): Use this simple community science tool to assess your garden's pollinator-friendliness.
- UGA Extension "Protecting Pollinators" page: Provides guidelines and how-tos for creating pollinator habitats.
