Tips for Engagement:
- Coordinate Group Counts: Organize count sessions at your preserved lands, nature centers, or other natural areas.
- Promote the Census to Members: Encourage your members to participate individually and as groups, emphasizing the data's importance for conservation efforts (you can’t protect something you don’t know about!).
- Host Educational Webinars/Events: Partner with Extension or university researchers to host online or in-person events explaining the ecological significance of pollinators and the Census.
- Connect Census Data to Your Mission: Explain how the data collected helps inform your organization's conservation strategies and advocacy efforts.
- Generic Guidance about what makes a Successful Census Program for Conservation Organizations
- Need some quick and easy resources for your Census event? Check out our Pollinator Outreach Kit item list.
Activities to Build Momentum:
- Habitat Restoration Workdays: Organize workdays focused on planting native pollinator-friendly species in key conservation areas.
- Community Science Training: Offer workshops on insect identification, community science protocols, and data collection techniques to prepare participants for the Census.
- "Pollinator Protection Pledge" Campaign: Encourage members and the public to take a pledge to adopt pollinator-friendly practices (e.g., planting native flowers, reducing pesticides).
Utilizing Extension- and Research-Based Resources:
- Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Program: Leverage their resources on pollinator habitat kits, the Pollinator Protection Pledge, and region-specific plant lists.
- N.C. Cooperative Extension Webinars: Promote and share Extension webinars on pollinator health and sustainable agriculture.
- University Research Data: Access and analyze past Census data, available on the GSePC website, to identify trends and inform your conservation priorities.
