There are marathons, read-a-thons, dance-a-thons, quilt-a-thons, paint-a-thons, geek-a-thons and sleep-a-thons.

So why not a bee-a-thon?

YourGardenShow.com is teaming with The Great Sunflower Project to sponsor a worldwide bee-a-thon, a free online town-hall event to be broadcast from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Pacific Time) at www.yourgardenshow.com/bee-a-thon.

You can listen to "bee experts, beekeepers and key environmental players reveal the latest buzz on what's happening to our bees and what you can do this summer to make a difference" and ask them questions.

In the meantime, the sponsors are encouraging you to RSVP and upload your favorite bee photo.

The bee-a-thon serves as the springboard for the citizen-science campaign, The Great Bee Count.

This is a great way to draw attention to the plight of the bees and the importance of these insects. While you're tuning in, the bees will be going about their business as usual--working inside the hive, and gathering pollen, nectar, water and propolis outside the hive.

The sponsors are urging us to "Bee curious, bee aware and bee a good neighbor."

Good advice all year long, but especially on Saturday, July 16.