Authors:
Liz Childress, Education and Outreach Supervisor, Weedon Island Preserve Cultural & Natural History Center
James Stevenson, Education and Outreach Supervisor, Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center
Bee City USA Affiliate: Pinellas County
USDA Plant Zone: 10b
Our top 5 native pollinator plants:
- White beggarticks (Bidens alba)
- Wild pennyroyal (Piloblephis rigida)
- Spotted horsemint (Monarda punctata)
- Thistle (Cirsium spp.)
- Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Pinellas County gladly joined the ranks of a Bee City USA in early 2023. Now, it may be confusing that a COUNTY government has applied to be a member of the Bee CITY initiative, but we are a special county in our state. Pinellas County is one of the smallest, yet the most densely populated county in the state of Florida. For that reason, our small, peninsular county is more like an expansive urban area of 280 square miles. Our county includes: a world-famous coastline, estuaries, upland, and freshwater wetland ecosystems. These precious natural areas are fragmented and exist in between developed cities, towns, and other (24 total) municipalities.
Our residents have repeatedly ranked “the environment” as a top concern for local government to address. With 20,000 acres of parks and preserves, there are areas for our native bees and other pollinators to exist, but we have enthusiastically embarked on a mission to increase pollinator habitat and resources.
The working group in Pinellas County is headed up by our Parks Director, Paul Cozzie, who has assembled a group of educators to bring native bee awareness to the public.
In 2023, we recruited interns from Eckerd College, a local university, and they set to work planning and executing a “Bio-Blitz Bee Survey” at a centrally located park. There, 35 community scientists spent an early summer day collecting data: 777 observations of 289 separate species of pollinators and their host plants.
During the month of September, we promoted a countywide and month-long “Parks for Pollinators” bio-blitz. This activity resulted in 183 participants making 1013 observations of 313 species.
In October, the Bee City USA team hosted a Wildflower & Pollinator Festival at Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, the county’s largest preserve/education center. Thirteen hundred guests enjoyed activities, crafts, native plant vendors and food, and 500 native seed mix packets were awarded to participants who completed an educational plant quest — the potential of 1,000 sq. ft. of pollinator habitat created in the backyards of those who participated.
Signs advertising our county’s participation in Bee City were posted at several entrances into the county and an additional set of informational signs were created to post in county parks. These signs point observers to the website we created that houses information on how to be a good Native Bee Neighbor!
We are looking forward to more educational classes and programs this year, bringing awareness to and appreciation for our native bee residents!
