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<DIV>Volunteers stick to study like bees to honey <!-- InstanceEndEditable -->
<P class=intro><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Dateline" --><EM><SPAN class=date>June 23, 2010</SPAN><!-- InstanceEndEditable --></EM> -- <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Intro Paragraph" -->Now in its thrid year, The
Great Sunflower Project combines the efforts of nearly 100,000 "citizen
scientists" to count pollinating bees across 50 states and Canada. <!-- InstanceEndEditable --></P><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Body" -->
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<P class=caption><SPAN class=intro><IMG height=263 alt="A photo of the Lemon Queen sunflower." src="http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/2010/spring/images/62a.jpg" width=350></SPAN></P>
<P class=caption>The Lemon Queen variety is widely used in The Great Sunflower
Project. </P>
<P class=caption>Photo courtesy of Andrea Wiggins. </P></DIV></DIV>
<P>The brainchild of Associate Professor of Biology Gretchen LeBuhn, the ongoing
project records the number of native bee visits to sunflowers and other
plants.</P>
<P>When the project began in the spring of 2008, LeBuhn hoped to attract about
5,000 volunteers from schools, master gardener groups and garden clubs
representing all or most of the regions of the North American continent and
Hawaii. The project actually attracted 25,000 participants the first year.
</P>
<P>At first, the study utilized only sunflowers and volunteers planted the Lemon
Queen annual variety seeds to grow the plants needed to attract bees. Last year,
the project expanded with the use of other plants including bee balm, cosmos,
rosemary, tickseed and purple cornflower. </P>
<P>At last count, 91,000 people of all ages and every walk of life have signed
up to plant the flowers and count the number of bees drawn to the plants over
15-minute intervals, then submit their data online. </P>
<P>"The overwhelming response to the call for help on this study reflects the
fact that thousands of people across the country have noticed that there are far
fewer bees than there used to be," LeBuhn said. She hopes that the
geographic breadth that the volunteers provide will reveal what kind of
environments are best for bee pollination, which is the first step to
determining what can be done to improve pollination. </P>
<P>Bee pollination is considered so crucial that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture designated an annual <A href="http://www.pollinator.org/pollinator_week_2010.htm" target=_blank><FONT color=#666600>National Pollinator Week</FONT></A> to advance public awareness
and scientific information about bee populations. Since the program began
three years ago, 36 states have officially adopted the designation and more
states are expected to follow suit this year. </P>
<P>To commemorate National Pollinator Week this year, June 21 through 27, Great
Sunflower Project volunteers are being asked to "add a yard to your yard," by
adding a square yard of flowering plants to their gardens.</P>
<P>"We not only want our volunteers to observe, but to take action by increasing
the amount of nectar and pollen available in their gardens," said the project's
outreach coordinator Fred Bove. According to the National Academy of Sciences
and the National Research Council, loss of habitat figures prominently in the
decline of the number and types of bees in the U.S.</P>
<P>Project leaders are currently working on a major update that will allow
LeBuhn to begin sharing the first three years of data this summer. She
hopes to publish the preliminary results of her analysis as early as
December. </P>
<P>Seed funding for <A href="http://www.greatsunflower.org/"><FONT color=#666600>The Great Sunflower Project</FONT></A> was provided by SF State
and the Integrated Hardwoods Range Management Program. The Spring Creek
Foundation and hundreds of volunteers have kept the project growing. </P><!-- InstanceEndEditable -->
<P>-- <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="Byline with e-mail" --><A href="mailto:denize@sfsu.edu"><FONT color=#666600>Denize Springer
</FONT></A></P></DIV>
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