I've been getting ready for The Great Georgia Pollinator Census on August 19-20, 2022 for over a year now. The University of Georgia extension service created the census to promote pollinator conservation. Last year I recorded the numbers and types of bees, wasps and butterflies that were visiting some of the flowers in my local community garden and filed it with the Census website.
This year I have been able to expand my range of recordkeeping choices. Beginning in the Spring of 2021, I started trying to regenerate an eroded scrub area that was a neglected part of my development. Books like Farming While Black, Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conversation That Starts in Yard, and The Living Soil Handbook, have provided some of the inspiration and instruction. I've added some better soil with some compost, terraced it and planted some lavender, black-eyed Susans, and marigolds—the latter two I started from seed after taking an online Wylde Center gardening class last winter. A few of my neighbors have donated some other plants as well as their time watering and trying to control the weeds. What used to be just some scrub vegetation, badly eroded soil (mainly clay really) has now become the beginnings of a garden that attracts bees (not butterflies yet).
Adding to the community vibe a regular customer came by our Destination: Books booth at the Freedom Farmer's Market at the Carter Center last month gave me some native milkweed plants to attract monarchs, which I have added to my meadow mix.
Our next popup at the Freedom Farmer's Market is Saturday, September 10th, but in the meantime, you can sharpen your pencils and print out a scorecard to participate in the upcoming pollinator census.