The University of Oregon is a certified Bee Campus. The Pollinator Program of the Student Sustainability Center aims to promote, protect, and raise awareness of native pollinators, including but not limited to bees, butterflies, and beetles. Pollinators perform the important task of fertilizing many plants, allowing them to produce seeds and fruits. A healthy pollinator community requires diverse flowering vegetation for foraging, adequate nesting sites, and minimal exposure to pesticides. The SSC works to create and maintain such suitable habitats across the University of Oregon campus and inspire others to protect these essential invertebrates. To learn more about our pollinator-friendly habitats, visit the pollinator layer of the UO campus map.
Importance of Native Species
Native pollinators are essential to a thriving ecosystem. They have been pollinating native plants in North America long before the introduction of European honeybees in the 1600s. Thus, many plants are dependent on the species they co-evolved with for their fertilization. The SSC’s Pollinator Program focuses its work on protecting and educating the UO community about native species.
Volunteer Opportunities
We are developing new and cool opportunities for volunteers to get involved in the Pollinator Program! Opportunities include helping at planting parties, participating in pollinator surveys around campus, maintaining pollinator-friendly habitats, and developing educational materials. For more information or to get involved, email sscpollinators@uoregon.edu, visit our Volunteering and Events page, or sign up for our Volunteer Email List.
History
The University of Oregon became a certified Bee Campus in the spring of 2018. The UO Bee Friendly Committee, a student-run organization, took on the important role of collaborating with local leaders to organize volunteers and make the UO campus a safe and welcoming place for pollinators. To expand the university’s impact on pollinator conservation, the Student Sustainability Center created the Pollinator Program, which continues to partner with the UO Bee Friendly Committee, Urban Farm Director Harper Keeler, landscape designer Jane Brubaker, and many others. To learn more about the UO’s efforts to conserve pollinators, refer to our Bee Campus reports: