laurenjansensimpson

Joined: Jan 8, 2016 Last Active: Mar 24, 2024 iNaturalist

Virtually all of my observations are from our home's pollinator-friendly, organic set of gardens that are a Certified Wildlife Habitat (National Wildlife Federation), a Monarch Waystation (Monarch Watch, Waystation No. 10925), and a Certified Butterfly Garden (North American Butterfly Association). When our gardens were certified as a Monarch Waystation, we named them "St. Julian's Crossing," in honor of St. Julian the Hospitaller, the patron saint of travelers and innkeepers, since Monarch Butterflies travel through the gardens on their annual migration. These are urban gardens, located in a residential neighborhood in one of the largest cities in the United States: Houston, Texas.

Almost every plant in our gardens provides food or shelter for insects, birds, lizards, etc. But our focus is on insects that pollinate. Purely as a citizen scientist and pollinator enthusiast, I am using iNaturalist to catalog and to identify as many of the invertebrate visitors to St. Julian's Crossing as possible, on a daily basis if I can (as my work schedule permits). My goal is to provide a record of invertebrate activity in a single urban location for an extended period of time, in the hope that that data will be useful for researchers.

I also maintain an educational Facebook community called "St. Julian's Crossing-wildlife habitat," which is dedicated to education about pollinators, the gardens that attract them, and pollinator conservation, using our own gardens as a springboard for discussion: https://www.facebook.com/St-Julians-Crossing-wildlife-habitat-1609337762653792/. I use this platform to raise awareness about the needs of and challenges facing pollinators and to inspire others to start their own pollinator-friendly gardens. The iNaturalist community has been an invaluable resource in that educational endeavor, and I can't thank its members enough. Please feel free to visit the St. Julian's Crossing-wildlife habitat educational FB community and to share it with others: I hope to reach as many people for pollinators as possible!

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