Growing With Science Blog

It’s time to start thinking about another citizen science project:  The Great Sunflower Project at www.greatsunflower.org.

The sunflower project involves growing a specific type of sunflower, Lemon Queen, and recording the types and how many bees come to visit the flowers.

This year the organizers are asking the participants to buy their own seeds because they can not fulfill the orders for the huge number of requests they received last year.

If you are interested in participating, the first step is to go to the website and register.  You will  find more instructions there and get future newsletters with information and updates.

The sampling protocol has been simplified a bit. This year you and your children will:
1) count the number of flowers on your plant with pollen;
2) record all bees (not just the first 5) your sunflower for 15 minutes; and
3) enter the data online.

Our family participated last year. I have to say I hadn’t had much success growing sunflowers before, but these Lemon Queen variety seeds grew beautifully.

We had quite a few bees visiting, although no honey bees.

Did you participate last year?

Let us know, we’d love to hear from you.

Here’s our result for the Great Backyard Bird Count. My son counted the birds in our back yard for 30 minutes.

We added his results to the site today, and it was quick and easy.

If you did the count, we’d love to hear your results.

The 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up next weekend, February 12-15. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to participate in a science project where the data they collect really “counts.”

Even if you don’t know a house sparrow from a chickadee, the site has some good information about birds, checklists of birds found in your area, and instructions about data collecting. There is also a list of related backyard activities you can do. Best of all, it’s free!

Our family will be participating, because my son is an avid birder. He is also a bird photographer, so he may take part in the photo contest. Note:  photos must be taken during the count weekend.

Aren’t burrowing owls cute? (Now, why can’t I take photos like that? )

If you and your family take part in the bird count, we’d love to hear about your experiences.

For more information, try these books: