Bee Campus USA

Bee Campus USA

Project Leads: Anne Ayotte, Taylor Rein, Kieran Allen, Karen Kolkey

Sponsor: Facilities Services/Department of Sustainability

Project Theme: Habitat Restoration

2019 Application Submission 

Project Description: The Bee Campus USA initiative plans to do work on the local level to protect key pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This effort was born out of the idea that bees pollinate 70% of the world’s crops and 90% of flowering plants, serving a crucial role in the production of a stable food supply for humans. The pollination services provided by this group of organisms accounts for over $20 billion in annual revenue for the U.S. Sadly, recent declines in monarchs, native bees, and honey bees is startling, with a 99% loss of monarchs since 1990 and several species of North American bees going nearly extinct. By fostering an environment suitable for pollinators, the Bee Campus USA effort requires a collaborative engagement of students, faculty, and staff to take forward pollinator conservation practices and reinvigorate campus landscape.

Goals of Project:

  • Restoring landscapes on campus including:
    • The Hearst Women’s Gym planting
    • Alumni House Strawberry Creek Corridor
  • Establish a standing volunteer bank of students to participate in planting habitat
  • Host educational workshops
  • Reduce pesticide and herbicide use
  • Offer nesting sites for Native Bees such as the Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lingularia and Digger Bee (Habropoda Depressa)