By Larry Felton Johnson

The Master Gardener Volunteer of Cobb County (MGVOCC) distributed the following announcement, along with a request for the media to cover MGVOCC’s participation in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census, on Friday, August 22nd, and Saturday, August 23rd, 2025. The GSPC is a project of the University of Georgia:

This year, MGVOCC is proud to host official GSEPC pollinator counting sessions at nine of our demonstration gardens across Cobb County. These events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Participants simply spend 15 minutes observing pollinators and submitting their findings to support important conservation research. Full event details, including dates, times, and locations, can be found in the attached press release.  

To equip everyone interested in participating, MGVOCC will also host an informative virtual webinar titled, “Great Southeast Pollinator Census – Citizen Science at Work!” This session will be led by Becky Griffin, UGA Extension’s Pollinator Census National Coordinator. Becky will delve into the fascinating world of pollinator ecology and explain how every individual can contribute meaningfully to the 2025 Great Southeast Pollinator Census. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, August 12th, 2025, at 7:00 PM. Registration is free and available at: https://bit.ly/2025GSEPC-Webinar.

A note from the editor of the Cobb Courier

Longtime readers of the Cobb Courier will realize that pollinators and the native plants that attract them are of particular interest to me as the editor and publisher here.

Ten years ago, I wrote about a Georgia Native Plant Society event at Heritage Park in Mableton.

At that event, members of the GNPS who were present had buckets of plants they’d thinned out in their own gardens. I took a bucket that included a beauty berry bush, along with two tiny native mountain mint plants.

Those two little mountain mint plants grew into a whole patch, and each summer their silvery flowers attract a whole metropolis of bees.

Since then, I’ve photographed the bees a couple of times per year. I’m not a professional photographer, but I considered the photos clear enough to give a good idea of how effective pollinator-attracting plants are at enticing the essential little workhorses.

You can view a few of the articles and photos here, here, and here.

I’d encourage you to attend the virtual webinar and take part in the GSEPC pollinator counting sessions if you are able.

Click on images of the flyers below to enlarge them.