Farmingdale State College has become an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, designed to marshal the strengths of educational campuses for the benefit of pollinators. FSC joins many other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.
FSC already hosts a sustainable garden in a one-half acre demonstration garden within the Horticulture Department's Teaching Gardens. The sustainable garden “focuses on contemporary strategies and practices relating to responsible resource use, conservation and innovation, product development, and food production,” according to the College.
Bee City USA takes pride in FSC’s commitment to minimizing hazards to pollinators by using nearly no neonicotinoids or other potentially dangerous pesticides. To raise awareness about the plight of pollinators, FSC plans to publish a webpage to disseminate information to the campus and external communities about the College’s Integrated Pest Management Plan, a list of native plants incorporated into the campus landscape, including their bloom time and habitat needs, links to student and faculty research into pollinator issues, and information about upcoming events.
Sustainability Manager Maia Roseval is excited about the opportunities for student research and service-learning. Already faculty, staff, and students have worked together to study and create pollinator habitat with native plants.
“The designation recognizes us for features we already have – such as the teaching gardens and sustainable garden,” Roseval said. “In addition, the pollinator garden that horticulture students are in the midst of designing fits in perfectly with this designation and our commitment to grow the amount of pollinator sites on campus through service learning.”
Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities and campuses to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants, and free of pesticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.
“The program aspires to make people more PC—pollinator conscious, that is,” said Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces’ Executive Director. “If lots of individuals and communities begin planting native, pesticide-free flowering trees, shrubs and perennials, it will help to sustain many, many species of pollinators.”
According to Bee Campus USA Coordinator Laura Rost, “How each city or campus completes the steps to conserve pollinators is up to them,” said Rost. “Affiliates play to their own strengths, designing pesticide reduction plans, improving habitat, and holding events ranging from garden tours to native plant giveaways to bee trivia nights. Each campus must renew their affiliation each year and report on accomplishments from the previous year. Other institutions of higher education are invited to explore completing the application process outlined at beecityusa.org.”
For more information about FSC’s Bee Campus USA program, contact Maia Roseval, FSC Manager of Sustainability.
