What’s black, buzzy, fuzzy and vital to food production across the world? You guessed it, bees! Unfortunately, these bumbling little fellows are facing international threats from forces such as habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and disease. Invasive species brought in for farming and aesthetics (and sometimes on accident) can destroy their sources of food and protection. However, as a college student, there are ways we can help! From funding research, to motivating students, to land and financial holdings, the capacity of colleges and universities to affect change is well understood. Students, in turn, can shape the college and the change it brings into the world. Across the United States, 26 campuses have been authorised “bee friendly” by Bee City USA (http://www.beecityusa.org/), which fights for education and structural change to ensure that our great grandchildren can see fat buzzing bees drifting between the flowers (and also to ensure that these descendants don’t have to completely restructure the way they eat).
The fact is that a multitude of plant species around the world rely on pollinators like bees. Without pollinators bringing pollen from flower to flower, the plants would have no way to reproduce. According to the USDA, 75% of flowering plants and 35% of food crops depend on pollinators (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/pollinate/). Changing landscapes due to development and climate change, as well as pesticides and disease are putting this vital part of our ecosystem at risk. For an overview of what bees are, how they are being harmed, and how we can help, please visit this short animated video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnY9R-felDA).
Agnes Scott College is certainly capable of becoming a bee friendly campus. We have made a similar effort to become certified as a Level I arboretum in the Arbnet Arboretum Accreditation Program (http://arboretum.agnesscott.edu/), and have a vested interest in environmental conservation with our increasingly active Center for Sustainability. The city of Decatur has in fact already been certified bee-friendly, and Agnes could greatly compound on and support Decatur’s efforts with our own certification and activities. Certification would include developing a campus habitat plan; hosting educational events; sponsoring service learning projects; and integrating conservation efforts into the curriculum. Lucky for us, Agnes’ Bee Society is on the case. The club, which recently completed it’s “Bee Week” event, is determined to complete these requirements and make Agnes hospitable for our pollinator friends. A more bee friendly campus could mean seeking alternatives to the pesticides applied to lawns around Agnes, planting native wildflower gardens, and creating shelters for the bees to utilize.
The dream of a world safe for bees is an attainable one, but we need to work fast. Every change in each garden and on each campus can improve the survival of pollinators and plant life as we know it. If Scotties can come together to fight for conservation, there is no doubt that we can become effective advocates for the bees around us.