Note that if you purchase something via one of our links, including Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
At Rhode Island’s Norman Bird Sanctuary, I conducted conservation research at the state’s largest pollinator grassland.
When you think of Rhode Island, the first images that come to mind probably include Gilded Age mansions, sailing regattas, and yacht-filled harbors. Unless you’re a sustainability tourist (which is cool), you're likely not thinking of nature preserves nor hiking trails nor bird sanctuaries. But tucked in Middletown, the Norman Bird Sanctuary’s seven miles of hiking trails and 300 acres of diverse wildlife set a new standard for what a coastal vacation can look like.
This summer I was lucky enough to spend time doing conservation research at the sanctuary’s coastal field — which is Rhode Island’s largest pollinator grassland and one of the sanctuary’s many habitats. This 10-acre field was previously used for monocrop farming and therefore was home to few pollinator species. I was hired for the early stages of this long-term monitoring program that tracks pollinator population trends throughout meadow development. The data that I, other interns, and citizen scientists collect will hopefully inform other habitat conservation strategies and help protect essential pollinator species.
The team at the sanctuary is currently working to remove invasive species and cultivate a biodiverse meadow to take advantage of this expansive and fertile space, and offer homes to local pollinators. What that means in practice is planting native species like buckwheat and in the field and allowing them to grow, while seeing which pollinators are attracted to these plants.
I spent a lot of time reviewing data collection methods for ways we could survey which pollinators are attracted to the inchoate meadow. This information would provide the sanctuary with a baseline knowledge of what pollinators were present in the meadow to compare to as the meadow becomes richer, more biodiverse, and therefore more attractive to pollinators of all kinds — not just bees. Some people who I’ve talked to about this work were surprised to learn that we were surveying the populations of beetles, butterflies, birds, flies, wasps, moths, and ants. All of these species are in fact pollinators because of their role in creating and maintaining ecosystems that other species rely on for food and shelter.
In order to collect information about this wide array of life that’s present in the pollinator meadow, we came up with two different methods of data collection. Pan trapping, the first method we piloted, is essentially a collection of three, fluorescent bowls filled with water and a drop of dish soap (to break surface tension) that are placed at the height of vegetation at sampling stations across the field. The idea is to trick pollinators into thinking the bowl/trap is a flowering plant. We would leave them out for a sunny 24 hours, then return to see what pollinators we attracted. During the two pilots we ran, we collected an abundance of pollinators ranging from bumble bees to hoverflies. This information told us which pollinators enjoy hanging out at the meadow, and which species we could expect to see more of as the meadow increases in size and biodiverse abundance.
The second method we decided to use is called the transect method — this one was more effective for surveying birds and butterflies who were not interested in the pan traps. This method is even simpler than a bowl filled with water; all that’s required is a set of eyes and a notebook! Data collectors simply walk at a slow pace down predetermined sections of the field and write down what they see. During a stroll down one of these transects, I would see moths, monarch butterflies, red-wing black birds, and yellow warblers, none of which we recorded using the pan trap method. The transect method will reveal what kinds of plants different pollinators prefer as well as an understanding of how pollinators interact with the landscape.
Some people who I’ve talked to about this work were surprised to learn that we were surveying the populations of beetles, butterflies, birds, flies, wasps, moths, and ants. All of these species are in fact pollinators because of their role in creating and maintaining ecosystems that other species rely on for food and shelter.
Both of these methods were cost effective and easily applicable to a citizen scientist. One of the main aims of the study is to engage the public in the importance of local pollinator species by having members of the community contribute to data collection. By having members of the public do the transect method — observing and recording pollinators — the sanctuary will have ample data in their quest to track trends in pollinator populations over time. While the sanctuary is still in the piloting phase of the study, people will soon be able to sign up to help scientists collect data here.
The town of Middletown is often overlooked by tourists visiting the neighboring city of Newport — where the mansions and glitzy attractions attract crowds. But the work taking place just a few miles away at the Bird Sanctuary helps ensure that we have healthy, thriving, coastal communities that can welcome tourists for years to come.
What You Can Do
To volunteer for environmental citizen science, start by visiting federal and state government websites, like Citizen Science.gov, or your state's official site, to find project catalogs and listings.
