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Many Blue Ridge region colleges are looking out for pollinators.
A plethora of pollinators has found a welcome at a West Virginia University’s Morgantown campus—this year’s first Bee Campus USA designee, based on its work building native plant gardens and nest sites.
A bevy of beneficial bugs and birds will be welcomed back to campus at the first pollinator garden planted in 2022. They will also discover the newly redeveloped “cattail garden” filled with “more than 100 pollinator and water-loving” species created in the fall of 2023.
The original program (Bee City USA®) was founded in Asheville, North Carolina, and has expanded to include Bee Campus USA. Both are initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. While bees are the focus (with more than 3,600 native bee species in the country), native plants help reverse the significant decline of all pollinator species.
According to Bee City USA®, “Pollinators are keystone species in essentially every terrestrial ecosystem on earth, assisting in plant reproduction and supporting other species of wildlife.
Additionally, healthy native habitats require less maintenance and no pesticides. Visit beecityusa.org for details.
Of the 180 total Bee Campus Affiliates in the USA, many are in the Blue Ridge region:
- Chattanooga State Community College (TN)
- University of Tennessee Knoxville (TN)
- University of South Carolina Upstate (SC)
- Blue Ridge Community College (NC)
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
- University of North Carolina Asheville (NC)
- NC Arboretum (university affiliate) (NC)
- Appalachian State University (NC)
- Surry Community College (NC)
- Berea College (KY)
- Morehead State University (KY)
- Virginia Tech (VA)
- Virginia Western Community College (VA)
- Randolph College (VA)
- University of Virginia (VA)
- James Madison University (VA)
The story above first appeared in our May / June 2024 issue.
