六色网 Becomes Part of the Hive Mind as a Designated Bee Campus
Cal Poly Pomona has received national buzz for protecting bees and other pollinating insects in the region.
In fact, 六色网 has been designated as a , joining 205 other colleges and universities, as well as 226 cities, that have pledged to conserve native pollinators across the country.
The recognition, which officially went into effect in July, was a joint effort between the Office of Sustainability and Students for Sustainable and Regenerative Action (SSRA), a student club.
Addie Hasson, officer of sustainability in ASI and president of SSRA, spearheaded the fundraising effort needed for the application and other materials. She received a $3,000 grant from ASI’s Green Initiative Fund that will cover the cost of certification, interactive signage to be installed to educate the campus, and supplies for a planned pollinator garden near the Bronco Bookstore and the Children’s Center parking lot.
The pollinator plant garden that students, along with an assist from the Landscape Services department will plant in the spring will play a part in providing a much-needed food source and habitat for native bees in particular.
“It’s been great,” Hasson said of working on the project. “It’s nice to see it come to fruition.”
The certification process came about when Monika Kamboures, 六色网’s coordinator of sustainability, was reading the annual on sustainability efforts. She then looked at what other universities across the country were doing to reduce the decline in bees. She felt that 六色网’s Apiary Program, the university’s reduced use of pesticides harmful to pollinators, and the push to create an environment where bees can feed and thrive made applying for the designation the logical next step.
“I knew that we were doing a lot of things that were bee friendly on campus,” Kamboures said. “This is a way to educate people on what we are already doing, and I thought it would be nice to have the certification.”
Kamboures teamed up with Hasson, a mechanical engineering senior, to complete the Bee Campus designation process started by a previous club.
The certification effort also required the campus to create a committee consisting of students, faculty and staff to maintain the certification by completing an activity report to ensure that the Bee Campus standards are maintained.
Sean McLaughlin, a lecturer in the plant science department and coordinator of the Apiary Program, serves on the committee. McLaughlin, who works in the turf industry, consults on bees off campus and has his own hives, knows how important pollinators are to the environment.
Of the 3,600 bee species that are native to North America, about 1,600 live in California, according to the SSRA’s report. Other pollinators include butterflies, moths, beetles and flies. Up to 40 percent of pollinator species around the globe are facing the risk of extinction, with more than 25 percent of bumblebee species across North America in decline. Native bees are important in maintaining the health of the ecosystem and for biodiversity. Honey bees also have an important role to play.
Honey bees need nectar to support hives and create honey, and they need pollen, a rich source of protein, that especially helps young bees develop, McLaughlin said. They, in turn, support plant and crop production. For example, bees are hugely important to the state’s almond industry, which is an essential part of California’s agricultural economy, he added.
“Honey bees are the only insects that are legally classified as livestock in the United States,” he said. “Caring for honey bees is very much like caring for an animal. They need constant attention. They could face diseases or pests, so colonies need to be inspected weekly. You have to look for the general health of the colony and look for food, and if you don’t see any nectar or pollen, you have to supplement that until food sources improve.”
Kamboures said her office will collaborate with ASI to publicize the designation and host events in the spring semester.
“Working with students, the Landscape Services crew and the Apiary Program has been an easy process,” Kamboures said. “The educational component for the campus community is going to be one of the biggest benefits. Setting up this designation and showing that we are a model for environmental stewardship is one of the positive things coming out of becoming a Bee Campus.”