New approved activity for HMNs!

Thanks to Scott Jost in our new Cohort VIII class of trainees, the Headwaters Chapter Volunteer Service Projects Committee has approved Bumble Bee Watch as a citizen science activity. From Scott’s proposal for the project:

Project Purpose and Value: Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North American bumble bees. This community science project allows participants to help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees, help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees, learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts, and connect with other community scientists. Bumble bees are essential pollinators in agriculture, wildlands, and urban areas. Evidence shows, however, that many species are suffering serious population declines. To support conservation efforts, more information is needed about the distribution and trends of bumble bee populations.

Project Description: Bumble Bee Watch observers make photographs of bumble bees and then upload them, along with contextual data, through the Bumble Bee Watch website or mobile app. Observers identify the bumble bees in the photographs, which are then verified by bumble bee experts. The identifications contributed by citizen scientist volunteers help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees, and in some cases, help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees. Through their participation, citizen scientist volunteers learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts.

Find the full proposal HERE.

Scott will be spending time on this project in the coming months and hopes other HMNs will be interested in joining him!

Are you interested in native bees, bee habitat, and bee conservation? I would love to connect with other HMNs who might want to work on this project with me, or who are knowledgeable about native bees or just enjoy them, or who know of promising bee habitat on public lands for making observations.

Scott Jost, May 2023, sdjost [at] gmail.com