July 16th: Join The Great Sunflower Project for the Great Bee Count and Bee-a-Thon

Message from The Great Sunflower Project:
Greetings citizen scientists!

Summer is now in full swing and gardens are buzzing with activity. Your sunflowers have survived birds and slugs, unseasonal rain and dry spells. Some of you have sunflowers in bloom and are diligently sending in your observations. Congratulations to all those who have already had the opportunity to observe, collect and report their data. Well done! Check out our “Leader Board” on the homepage of the Great Sunflower Project website. (www.greatsunflower.org) to see our top data collectors. We’ll update this each week, so keep up the great work.

While we don’t expect everyone to be a data leader, we’re asking all of you to attempt at least one observation this year. Why not join thousands of others across the country in The Great Bee Count and observe on Saturday, July 16th? Not only will you know that you are joining with others to help a greater cause, you can take a few moments from your day to learn about natures benefits.

Even if you do not have blooms on your plants by July 16th, you can still be enjoy, learn and be part of the project by tuning in to the first ever “Bee-A-Thon” - a 12-hour, worldwide online webcast designed to bring you current information about bee conservation. Throughout the day, experts will talk about bee biology and changes in global bee populations and ways to take action. A live, online broadcast dedicated to bees and other pollinators has never been done before, and we know it will be fascinating and informative. Just go to www.yourgardenshow.com and join the fun. You can find more details and RSVP online for the Bee-a-Thon.

Remember: Bees are declining in certain areas, and the more we know about pollinator service in your area, the more action will be able to be taken to preserve and enhance pollinator habitat. Be a part of the solution: Observe and report data for Great Bee Count on July 16th and tune in to YourGardenShow.com from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm PST for the Bee-a-Thon.

We would like as many as possible to observe and report, so if you know of a garden in your area that is accessible to the public where those without flowers can count bees on July 16, please let us know at sfbee@sfsu.edu. We’ve set up a page to keep track of them.