The Great Southeast Pollinator Census 2025

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census, sponsored by the Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer Association of Onslow County and the NC Cooperative Extension, will be held Saturday, August 23, from 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M., at 4024 Richlands Highway, Jacksonville, NC, 28540. The event will be located near the Discovery Garden area and the Onslow County Farmers Market.

Do you want to join a citizen science program & learn about pollinators? Come to our Pollinator Census this August!

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is about to begin! This is a citizen science project started by the University of Georgia that now reaches four states; Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and of course, North Carolina. The purpose of the project is to gather data on the pollinators in our state. This data includes number of pollinators, diversity of pollinators, as well as geographic data which is combined to paint an accurate picture of the state of pollinators in the Southeast.

We rely on pollinators for many of our crops and for the survival of our ecosystem. This is why it is so valuable for researchers to know the trends in pollinator population numbers.

This project is growing every year, and this year you can be a part of it. All you have to do is choose a plant, print out the pollinator counting sheet, and begin counting.!

We will be in the Discovery Gardens counting & learning about pollinators! All materials will be provided! We will also have a FREE Milkweed for Monarchs activity for children!

Details:

– Date: Saturday, August 23th, 2025

– Time: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

– Address: 4024 Richlands Hwy, Jacksonville NC

Can’t join us but still want to participate in the census? – Visit: https://gsepc.org/

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census – Citizen Science at Work for more information!

Visitors may also check out the Farmers Market. If you have questions, please contact Emilee Morrison at emilee_morrison@ncsu.edu or call 910-455-5873.

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What is the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census?

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is a simple community science project designed to take data over the course of two days in August to capture a snapshot of pollinator activity, pollinator presence, pollinator preference, and plant flowering phenology. It was designed to be doable by the general public, whether or not they knew the different insects.

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census was founded in Georgia by Becky Griffin with UGA Extension in 2017. It started as a modest pilot project to educate community garden managers and teachers about the importance to pollinators. It has since evolved into a multi-state program that inspires all sorts of community scientists to stop at least once during a two-day window in August to observe what pollinators are in their community.

Help us capture a snapshot of pollinator activity in communities across North Carolina, including the types of pollinators and which flowers they visit, and help build a southeast-wide data set with other states!

You don’t need to be an expert in insect identification! Anyone can participate!

Goals

• To Inspire people to create sustainable pollinator habitats.

• To increase participants’ interest in and knowledge about pollinators.