TOLLAND YOUTH GARDEN JOINS THE GREAT SUNFLOWER PROJECT

Did you know bees are responsible for every one third bite of food we eat!

Did you know that bees are in trouble?  Bees are disappearing in alarming numbers because of a nasty problem called Bee Colony Disorder. 

 What we don't know is how this is affecting pollination of our own gardens, crops and wild lands. In 2008, The Great Sunflower Project started to gather information and to give us the tools to learn about what is happening with the pollinators in our area.  The GSP now has the largest single body of information about bee pollinator service in North America. Thanks to thousands of observers from all over the country, the GSP can determine where pollinator service is strong or weak compared to averages.  Connecticut has the highest concentration of pollination service in the country!   

Students in the Tolland Youth Garden this growing season will be able to take counts of the number and types of pollinators visiting plants at the TYG, especially sunflowers in our new Great Sunflower Wall.

Anyone can count pollinators wherever you go, on any plant, and report your findings to the GSP.  You can even count if you can't identify the plant species.  You can participate by stopping to watch a plant and recording how many pollinators visit over fifteen minutes, or by recording pollinators as you take a walk!

To learn more about the Great Sunflower Project, about pollinators and  how you can contribute to this important scientific study and conservation effort, go to the Great Sunflower Project web page:   http://www.greatsunflower.org/node/1000010