For 15 minutes in August, South Carolinians slowed down and paid attention to the flowers around them. Instead of simply passing by a blooming plant, participants watched closely, counting bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, and other insects as they visited flowers. Those observations may have only lasted a short time, but together they contributed to something much bigger: a regional snapshot of pollinator activity across the Southeast.

On August 21st and 22nd, SCWF participated in and hosted community counts for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census, a citizen science project created by the University of Georgia. The annual effort invites people of all ages and experience levels to observe pollinators visiting a single blooming plant and record what they see.

The first count of the day started at the SCWF office in Columbia at 1519 Richland Street. Two years ago, we installed a pollinator garden outside of our office. We got to observe our native plants in action as we counted the pollinators that visited our plants like butterfly weed and baptisia. Our staff observed a lot of small bees, honey bees, and flies as we participated in the count.

The next stop of the day was at Chapin Town Hall in Chapin. In partnership with our friends with the Chapin Garden Club, a beautiful 70ft long Carolina Fence Garden has been installed at Chapin Town Hall. This garden was buzzing full of pollinators and insects. We welcomed the public to come out and join the count, and were also joined by the Chapin Garden Club and Snug Harbor Wildlife Rescue. During this count, we observed a lot of different species of wasps, small bees, months, and even some butterflies! Families also enjoyed a special garden story time and pollinator education from our Conservation Program Manager Savannah Jordan, and left with a fun prize and a free packet of native flower seeds to continue supporting pollinators at home.

The last count of the day was at the Richland Library in Ballentine. The community was invited to come out to the library’s pollinator garden to join Master Naturalist Tami Kyre, SCWF Conservation Project Manager Savannah Jordan, and Richland Library staff member Melissa Sprenne for an afternoon of pollinator discovery and education. Families searched the garden for pollinators while learning how to identify the many buzzing visitors that call the space home. The day also featured a special story time, interactive educational activities, and free, native seeds to take home. It was a fun and engaging celebration of pollinators that brought together people of all ages and an opportunity to learn more about the important role we all can play in creating habitat for them!

Participating in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census was a wonderful reminder to slow down, take a closer look at the flowers around us, and appreciate the pollinators that play such an essential role in our ecosystems and food systems. Every observation made contributed valuable community science data that helps researchers better understand pollinator populations, identify trends, and inform conservation efforts to protect these essential species and their habitats. We are grateful to everyone who joined us at one of our events, participated in the census, and helped make a difference for pollinators!