Pardon Me For Asking: Become A Bee Watcher Volunteer

Did you know that New York City parks such as Central Park and Prospect Park contain as many as 60 different species of bees? How cool is that.
They can be found everywhere in the city. Basically, wherever there are plants there are bees.
The Great Pollinator Project seeks to gather information on the city's bees. In order to do so, volunteers in all boroughs are needed to help gather data on them.
If you would like to become a Bee Watcher and help, read on.

From the Bee Watcher web site:

Thank you for volunteering your time to help us learn about New York City’s bees. There are many ways to be a Bee Watcher.

Observe bee visitation at selected plants that will be distributed at our spring orientations. Conduct your observations in your own garden and submit your data online.

Become a Mobile Bee Watcher. Conduct your observations on flowers in your neighborhood or at selected bee gardens planted at various locations throughout New York City and submit your data online.

Any questions? Do you have other skills to share? Please email us at beewatchers@gmail.com. Thanks!

One-third of our food depends on the services of a pollinator—bee or other insect, bird, or mammal. Bees are the most important pollinators in the Northeastern U.S., and there are more than 200 species of bees that live right here in New York City. We need to protect these local pollinators that help keep our parks and green spaces healthy and beautiful, and our farmers’ markets stocked with fresh produce.

Did You Know:
• There are 4,000 bee species in North America
• There are 800 bee species east of the Rocky Mountains
• There are 423 bee species in New York State
• There are 226 bee species in New York City
• Fifty-four bee species have been identified from a suite of Bronx community gardens
• Fifty-eight bee species have been identified from Central Park
• Fifty-nine bee species have been identified from Prospect Park

In 2007, the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and the Greenbelt Native Plant Center began the Great Pollinator Project (GPP) in collaboration with the Great Sunflower Project in San Francisco, CA. The goals of the GPP are: 1) identify which areas of New York City have good pollinator service (as determined by how quickly bees show up to pollinate flowers at various locations throughout the city); 2) increase understanding of bee distribution; 3) raise public awareness of native bees; and 4) improve park management and home gardening practices to benefit native bees. If you are interested in our local pollinators, we need your help!