Got 15 minutes to spare next Friday or Saturday? Great!

Fifteen minutes is all it takes to take part in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census.

Organizers at the University of Georgia Extension Service have added states to the annual count of bees, butterflies, moths and other insects in an effort to get an idea about pollinator trends across the Southeast.

The Census will take place on Friday, Aug. 21 and Saturday, Aug. 22.

The local extension service will have guide sheets at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market to explain the process and how you can take part, according to Vance County  Agent Michael Ellington.

North Carolina submitted numbers for the 2023 census, along with Georgia and South Carolina; Florida came on board in 2024 and Alabama joined in 2025. This year’s count will include pollinator counts from Mississippi as well.

A total of 27,048 citizen scientists across the five states of GA, SC, FL, AL and NC counted 500,402 insect pollinators in 2025, according to information on the census website.

The setup is pretty simple: there’s a downloadable sheet to record your observations. All you need to do, really, is identify a plant in your yard or garden and watch it for 15 minutes, recording each time an insect land on that single plant.

Can’t tell a honey bee from a carpenter bee? No problem. The recording sheet has photos to help you tell the difference. Ditto for butterflies and moths.

To learn more about the Census, visit

https://gsepc.org/

For a focus on North Carolina participation, visit https://extensiongardener.ces.ncsu.edu/featured-programs-2/gsepcinnc/