91原创

The national designation is the result of a two-year, student-led effort.

As a sophomore, Zo毛 Bross 鈥�23 learned about Bee Campus USA from a friend at the University of Utah. And she said to herself, 鈥淚 like sustainability. I like pollinators. Why isn鈥檛 the a certified Bee Campus USA?鈥�

That began a two-year effort to earn that certification.

The certification鈥攁long with one for Bee City USA鈥攃omes from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. According to its , 鈥淏ee Campus USA provides a framework for university and college campus communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides.鈥�

鈥淧ollinators keep plants alive and are the very reason we have the food we eat,鈥� says Bross. 鈥淏ut bee populations are threatened because of human activities, like climate change, urbanization, and pesticide usage. That makes pollinators a keystone group for everything we need and use in the world.鈥�

Bees feed pollen to their young, explains , a senior instructor in the and a coauthor of (Princeton University Press, 2019). 鈥淪ome of the pollen bees collect from one plant are dropped off at other plants they visit. In that way, bees help flowers to reproduce.鈥�

For Bross, an environmental studies major, the ideas of plant reproduction and sustainability struck close to home. She went to her adviser, , an associate professor of instruction in the and cochair of the University Council on Sustainability, who directed her to the person responsible for the upkeep of the campus greenery: John McIntyre, manager of .

鈥淭his was a student initiative, so I was just a guiding tool,鈥� says McIntyre. 鈥淲e already met a lot of the program needs for the certification. I just had to supply documentation to the student group.鈥�

That documentation was only one of many requirements for certification. Others included having pollinator habitats, reducing the use of pesticides, incorporating pollinator conservation studies in the classroom, and establishing a Campus USA committee made up of students, faculty, and staff.

Bross鈥檚 efforts paid off on April 10 when the University was certified as Bee Campus USA affiliate.

A fine example of community engagement took place on April 19 as about 150 students鈥攁long with faculty, staff, and University mascot Rocky鈥攇ot together to plant a pollinator garden of native plants at the intersection of Intercampus Drive and Library Road.

鈥淚 would have been excited to get 15 people for the planting,鈥� says Bross. 鈥淭he turnout completely blew me out of the water.鈥�

Bross would like to see a ripple effect from the garden planting. Seeds were given away at the event, and Bross hopes that some new yarrow, coneflower, aster, and milkweed plants will soon sprout at the homes of the people who turned out.

Ultimately, the event and the certification itself are about education. Minckley agrees that bee populations are being hurt in areas where people have disturbed their habitats. He says, 鈥淭he Bee Campus certification will help educate our community about the importance of reducing pesticide use and favoring native plants.鈥�

Read more