Help the Bees with the Great Sunflower Project
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Grow a Sunflower and Participate in the Great Backyard Bee Count
Like many people I've been concerned about the decline of the bee population and wished there was something I could do to help. Recently I was delighted to learn about a project to help bee researchers called the Great Sunflower Project Bee Count.
The Great Sunflower Project was founded in 2008 by Gretchen LeBuhn, a bee researcher at San Francisco State University. Each person's contribution is small and only takes a few minutes of their time, but with over 100,000 people signed up to participate in the research all over North America, a large amount of information about bees can be gathered. On this page I'll share how easy and fun it is to become involved in a citizen science project to help the bees!
The Great Sunflower Project was founded in 2008 by Gretchen LeBuhn, a bee researcher at San Francisco State University. Each person's contribution is small and only takes a few minutes of their time, but with over 100,000 people signed up to participate in the research all over North America, a large amount of information about bees can be gathered. On this page I'll share how easy and fun it is to become involved in a citizen science project to help the bees!
(Photo by VickiSims)
Why Help the Bees?
Bees are required to pollinate a third of all food crops!
The Great Sunflower Project Explained
The Great Sunflower Project Founder, Gretchen LeBuhn
In this video, Gretchen LeBuhn, founder and director of the Great Sunflower Project, explains how easy it is to help bee researchers gather valuable data about bees.
curated content from YouTube
Plant Your Flower to Count the Bees
The List of Plants to Use to Participate in the Bee Count
Originally the project was set up with the idea that everyone would plant a specific type of yellow sunflower called "Lemon Queen" (Helianthus annuus) which is easy to grow and a favorite of bees. To accomodate climates where perhaps sunflowers may not bloom early enough in the year, the program has expanded the plant choices to include bee balm, purple coneflowers, tickseed, cosmos and rosemary.Here are the simple steps to take to participate and help the bees:
1. Plant your sunflower (or other plant from the list)
2. Go to the Great Sunflower Project Website to sign up - click on the photo of the sunflower
3. Watch your sunflower for 15 minutes
4.Enter your data online.
(Photo by VickiSims)
Grow Lemon Queen Sunflowers for the Bees
Sunflowers - A Honeybee Favorite
The Lemon Queen Sunflower was the flower used the first year and is why the program was called The Great Sunflower Project.
Enjoy Beautiful Sunflowers
Visit These Pages for More Information About Sunflowers
In addition to helping researchers learn more about bees, growing sunflowers for the Great Sunflower Project will also provide you with the enjoyment of seeing the lovely sunflowers and provide nutritious seeds - food for you, birds, squirrels, chipmunks.
Other Plants on the Bee Count Plant List
Rosemary, Bee Balm, Cosmos, Purple Coneflower and Tickseed (Coreopsis)
Rosemary, Bee Balm, Cosmos, tickseed are other plants that can be used for the Backyard Bee Count.
Count the Bees!
How to Participate in the Backyard Bee Count
After setting up your account, here are the supplies you will need: Your sunflower (or another plant on the list), a comfortable place to sit, a data sheet printed from the Great Sunflower Project website, a pen or pencil and a watch. A camera is optional but you are encouraged to take photos and share them.
Here's what you'll do for the actual bee count:
1. Pull up a comfortable chair next to your plant on a sunny morning preferably around 9 to 10 am - bring a cup of coffee or tea to enjoy.
2. Focus on one plant and count and report the number of fresh open flowers on the plant - don't count older flowers that may not have pollen or nectar
3. Write down your starting time
4. For each bee that visits, write down its arrival time
5. Stop recording your observations after 15 minutes
6. Enter you data on The Great Sunflower Project Website
If you don't see any bees, that is important information, too!
You are welcome to submit reports as many times as you can all summer!
(Photo by VickiSims)
Why Participate in the Great Sunflower Project and Count the Bees?
Benefits of the Great Backyard Bee Count
In this video Gretchen LeBuhn explains what you can gain from participating in the Great Sunflower Project.
curated content from YouTube
The Great Sunflower Project Website
Log in and Report Your Bee Count
The Great Sunflower Project website will explain the project and exactly what you need to do to participate. It only requires a few minutes in advance of the count to set up your account, report your location and answer a few questions about your garden. For the actual count, it requires 15 minutes of observation time and a few minutes to log back into the site to report how many bees you saw. You can also submit your report by printing out a data sheet from the website, filling it out and mailing it in.
- Join The Hunt for Bees! | The Great Sunflower Project
- The Great Sunflower Project Website where you can report your count!
More About Bees on Squidoo
Visit these pages for more great information about bees
More Ways to Help the Bees
1. Don't use pesticides in your yard
2. Plant flowers that bees like
3. Consider getting a hive or nest box
Bee Houses to Help Bees
Houses for Bumblebees and Mason Bees
If having a beehive is not an option for you, there are other beneficial pollinators you can help with minimal effort and cost. Bumblebees and mason bees are also important pollinators and they don't require as much knowledge, time and effort as keeping honeybees. For the most part you provide suitable nesting sites and they will take care of themselves.
More Homes for Bees
Bumblebee and Mason Bee Homes
Bees in the News
The latest buzz about bees
- USDA survey shows fewer honeybee colony losses
- The US Department of Agriculture says fewer honeybee colonies are being lost, suggesting bees' health may be improving. A survey made public Thursday shows that about 22 percent of US honeybee colonies were lost this winter. That's a lower mortality ...
- USDA survey shows fewer honeybee colony losses
- (AP) - The US Department of Agriculture says fewer honeybee colonies are being lost, suggesting bees' health may be improving. A survey made public Thursday shows that about 22% of US honeybee colonies were lost this winter. That's a lower mortality ...
- Survey: more honey bees surviving
- TUCSON - According to a recent survey published by the USDA, one third more honey bees are alive today. For the past five years, the honey bee population has been in the midst of a major decline, and beekeepers were asking why.
- Pesticide affects honey bee feeding habits
- By Kim McDonald, UC San Diego Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered that a small dose of a commonly used crop pesticide turns honey bees into ?picky eaters? and affects their ability to recruit their nestmates to otherwise good sources of food.
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Thank you!
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TateFisher Jun 1, 2012 @ 12:28 pm | delete
- Sunflowers are my favorite and so is honey. What a perfect blending of bees and my favorite things. Thanks!
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fitnessjunkie8
May 31, 2012 @ 12:36 pm | delete
- I was completing a squidoo quest "water a flower" and I chose to look up Sunflower because my kids and I received a bunch of Sunflowers for Earthday and I wanted to know more about them. The title of this lense was catchy. I was absolutely delighted and surprised by how enlightening this lense is. I watched the videos and read the lense with my 8yr old twins and we will be completing the first step in this project today-planting our sunflowers.:-) Thanks a bunch for this lense and we look forward to doing our part in The Great Sunflower Project!
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Graceonline
May 31, 2012 @ 12:14 am | delete
- You have provided a wonderful service with this page. Although I live in San Francisco and am keenly interested in the loss of bees throughout the world, I was totally unaware of this project. Thank you for helping to spread the word.
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BiminiBahamas
May 27, 2012 @ 3:02 am | delete
- Interesting, I was going to plant sunflower seeds this morning and stumbled across this lens ... will have to come back once my flowers bloom.
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BiminiBahamas
May 27, 2012 @ 3:02 am | delete
- Interesting, I was going to plant sunflower seeds this morning and stumbled across this lens ... will have to come back once my flowers bloom.
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by VickiSims
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I'm Vicki and I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest near Seattle, WA. I enjoy the outdoors,hiking, camping, birdwatching, gardening, traveling,...
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