Georgia State Atlanta campus in the fall

GARDENS & GREENSPACES

Mark your calendar for 2025 Great Southeast Pollinator Census

August 22nd and 23rd, 2025

GSU 2024 Census Data

Great Southeast Pollinator Census

The Great Georgia Pollinator Census is a citizen-based project created by the University of Georgia. Participants track the amount of insect activity on a native plant for 15 minutes. This data is important so the Bee Campus Committee knows how pollinator populations are doing over time.

GSU’s Decatur Campus hosted the 2024 Great Southeast Pollinator Census. During the two-day period from August 23-24, a total of 1,069 pollinators were counted. The most frequently counted pollinators were butterflies and moths that were counted 304 times. A total of 15 different plant species were chosen to count at.

2024 Great Southeast Pollinator Census Data

During our August 2024 Census, 18,776 counts were uploaded recording 394,561 insect visits. Congratulations, YOU made this happen

The Headlines:

The 2024 18,776 counts are an increase from the 2023 count of 12,293. Floridians started their first year strong with 2,808 counts uploaded while North Carolina increased their participation to 2,287. You all may remember that Hurricane Debby impacted South Carolina’s effort and it is amazing that 412 participants were able to count and upload data. Georgians continue to increase their participation with 13,269 counts uploaded

Some additional numbers:

838 new sustainable pollinator gardens were created as part of the Census project in 2024.
540 educators reported that the Census was used as part of their STEM/STEAM initiative impacting over 3,000 students.
269 counties in the four participating states were represented in the 2024 Census.

We know that numbers are only part of the story. These statements reflect how much we all observe as we participate in the count:

You never know how many different insects you will see on one tiny plant.
We were able to see the pollination actually happening.
Wasps are important pollinators.
There’s more than one type of bee.

The 2024 Census detailed data will be added to the project website in the coming weeks. Remember the data from all years is on the website and accessible for anyone to use. THANK YOU. Thank you for your support and participation in this important project.

Please make sure your calendars are marked for August 22nd and 23rd, 2025.