Georgia Pollinator Steward Program

The Georgia Pollinator Steward Program is a ‘grab & go’ program designed for UGA ANR agents to offer to a more in-depth experience for their clients. After completion of the program, participants are asked to assist the agent in educational programming, pollinator garden creation, etc.

Books needed for each participant:

The Bees in Your Backyard by Wilson and Messinger Carril

Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States by Holm

Butterflies of Georgia Field Guide by Jaret C. Daniels

Georgia Pollinator Steward Creators:

Becky Griffin (project coordinator)

Jennifer Berry

Kris Braman

Keith Delaplane

Irenee Payne

Bodie Pennisi

Anna Yellin

Program Piloted by: Sarah Brodd

How to Use This Program

This program was designed for you to provide a more in-depth experience for your clients with an interest in pollinators. The program has seven modules and it is recommended that you lead one module a week. Order the three books listed for each participant. Anything you charge the group over the cost of the books is for your programming.

Prior to presenting the program, go over the resources for each week and decide how you want to use them. Each week has a theme, several activities, resources, and a corresponding journal article. To round out each class, consider a guest speaker or a field trip. For example, for Honey Bee Week you may want to invite a local honey beekeeper and for habitat week you may want to visit a local garden.

Use the Georgia Pollinator Steward logo for flyers, tee shirts, hats, etc.

Make this program your own. Make it work for your county. Decide in advance what you will ask of your participants once the program is completed. Do you want them to build a demonstration garden at your Extension office? Do you want them to provide educational programming to others? Do you want them to lead census counting for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census?

If you have any questions please contact the project coordinator, Becky Griffin at beckygri@uga.edu. If you use the program, we would appreciate any feedback as this program is new.

Week 1: Introduction to Pollinators

Theme: Everyone can make a difference for pollinator conservation!

Activities:

Review the PowerPoint, Protecting Georgia’s Pollinators.
Discuss Georgia’s Pollinator Protection Plan.
Watch the short film My Garden of 10,000 Bees.
Visit a local flower garden and have participants watch the insect activity paying close attention to the insect/flower interaction.
Guide the participants in creating a personal pollinator mission statement using the printed cards.
Use the research article on pollinator conservation in urban settings.
For homework, ask each participant to choose one pollinator that they will research during the weeks of the program. Hand out the homework sheets.

Week 1 Prep: You will need to rent or purchase the film My Garden of 10,000 Bees. Review the Pollinator Protection Plan, decide if you want to print it or choose what you want parts you want to discuss. Print the Personal Mission Statement Cards, preferably on card stock. Print the homework sheets. Scout a garden location for a field trip.

Week 2: Native Bee Week

Theme: There are over 4,000 native bee species in North America.

Activities:

Use the PowerPoint to introduce the importance of bees as pollinators and to go into depth on two species. Use the Bee Species Diversity in the United States handout as you start the PowerPoint.
Use Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States and go through the introduction. Especially look at The Interconnected Relationship Between native Bees and Native Plants in the Introduction. Pick a few bee species to look at in-depth.
Have the participants look at bee specimens through a microscope.
Show the video about the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee (below).
Look at the Native Bees of Georgia website.
Building native bee homes is an option, although many participants may have done this in the past.
Use the research article about native bees in apple orchards.

Week 2 Prep: You will need to have bee specimens to look at. Contact Becky Griffin for how to take bee specimens if you have not done that before. You will need to have the supplies for the bee homes, precutting boards and roofs. It will be easier to pre-drill holes.

Week 3: Butterfly Week

Theme: Butterflies are more than pretty insects.

Activities:

Use the Butterflies of Georgia book with the Butterfly Worksheet to look in-depth at some of our Georgia butterflies. These particular butterflies were chosen because they are common and they have interesting larval plants and/or habitat.
Use the PowerPoint about Butterflies and Moths.
Show Flight of the Butterflies film about the discovery of the Monarch nesting sites in Mexico.
Create butterfly puddles.
Consider having your group participate in Monarchs Across Georgia’s symbolic migration. There is a total cost of $15.
The research article is on Migration in butterflies.

Week 3 Prep: You may need to rent the Flight of the Butterflies film. Gather materials for the butterfly puddles.

Week 4: Other Pollinators Week

Theme: A pollinator is anything that moves pollen from the male parts of a flower to the female parts of a flower.

Activities:

Use the PowerPoint to introduce pollinators other than bees and butterflies.
Go over the Pollinator Syndromes Chart.
Send your group on a “other pollinators” hunt. Using their camera phones have them photograph, and identify, the types of pollinators that they find in their gardens.
View the National Geographic video on ghost orchid pollination.
Look at the research article on hover flies as important pollinators.

Week 4 Prep: Review materials. Scout out a location for the Other Pollinators Hunt.

Week 5: Honey Bee Week

Theme: Each honey bee hive has only one queen.

Activities:

Use Keith Delaplane’s PowerPoint on Beekeeping.
Use Jennifer Berry’s video on honey bee issues and the honey bee lab.
Show the short video Be the Bee – A Hive to Table Experience from the National Honey Board.
Use the article discussing the honeybee vaccine.
Plan for a honey taste testing (see resources below).
Ask someone from your local beekeeping association to be a speaker.

Below are the resources to host a honey tasting. All you need are several local honey varieties.

Week 5 Prep: Arrange for a honey beekeeper visit. Gather the supplies for a honey tasting, use as many local honeys as you can find.

Week 6: Habitat Week

Theme: A habitat consists of food, water, shelter, and nesting places.

Activities:

Use Dr. McCarthy’s video about forest pollinators.
Use Dr. Pennisi’s video about shade gardening for pollinators.
Talk to the group about the Pollinator Plants of the Year program.
Consider using the Habitat Assessment for a garden or park pollinator garden
Use the research article on landscape context and urban bee diversity.
Consider having the group design a pollinator garden.

Week 6 Prep: Gather landscape design tools if you want your group to design a garden. There are several inexpensive ones out there. Use seed catalogs for inspiration and plant information.

Week 7: Go Forth! Week

Theme: YOU can make a difference!

Activities:

Go through the Farming for Pollinators activity (see below).
Have the group present information on the pollinators they chose on week #1.
Discuss possible habitat certification programs
Consider a practice Pollinator Census.
Use the research article about opportunities and threats for pollination conservation in global towns and cities.
Hand out program certificates.

Certification programs:

The following activity was designed by Irenee Payne, Pollinator Coordinator for the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts, as a way to think about the benefits of adding pollinator habitat to a Georgia farm. It is a great way to put all of the pollinator weeks together.

Week 7 Prep: Print certificates. Consider a ceremony for giving out the certificates. Review the materials for the Farming with Pollinators activity. Consider having the group work towards one of the certification programs with your Extension garden.