Community members across the Pacific Northwest are buzzing this week about bumblebees.
In the United States, one out of every four bumblebees is at risk of going extinct. Rich Hatfield, the senior conservation biologist at Xerces Society, said the decline in bee population is due to habitat loss and insecticides.
And now, groups of non-scientists are joining forces to make sure that doesn't happen.
The groups are made up of community scientists, although a science background is by no means required. What is required, is an appreciation of bees and a desire to help save them.
We caught up with Hatfield as he was teaching Portland Parks and Rec camp counselors how to be community scientists.
"I'm teaching them how to appreciate pollinators," he said.
First, the volunteers capture the bees which are then placed in a chilled cooler that makes them lethargic.
The community scientists then take photos of the bees and release them unharmed.
The ultimate goal is to gather critical information.
"We know that about one in four of our bumblebees are facing some degree of extinction risk," explained Hatfield. "We have one species here in Oregon that may already be extinct.”
Researchers hope with the help of community scientists, they'll be able to gather enough information to come up with a plan.
"We can use that information to make recommendations for homeowners about which flowers to plant and how they can attract some of these animals and improve their populations," said Hatfield
If this kind of community research sounds interesting to you, you're in luck.
Hatfield and his team are looking for more citizen scientists.