The Business of Bees

The buzz around campus is that the University of Utah has become certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA, a Xerces Society program designed to marshal the strengths of educational campuses for the benefit of pollinators. The U joins many other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.

The U and SBS in particular know a thing or two about the science of beekeeping. SBS’s Amy Sibul, the U’s Bee Campus USA committee chair, says a group of dedicated students, faculty, and staff have implemented multiple pollinator-friendly initiatives at the institution since 2012.

“We have been working to build bee-friendly habitat and raise awareness about pollinator conservation on campus and beyond for years. We’re so happy that the University of Utah is recognized for this work and can serve as a role model for including pollinators in the planning of urban spaces and infrastructure. It is essential that humans pay attention to these vital insects as we look to the future. They are an integral part of food webs and ecosystem functioning in both urban and wild spaces.”

The backbone of the U Bee Campus USA Committee is the Beekeepers’ Association, for which Sibul serves as the faculty advisor. This student organization maintains honeybee hives on campus and hosts pollinator awareness events, public school classroom visits, and lectures on campus to educate people about the importance of bees and other pollinators. A pollinator Conservation Garden was completed on campus in 2019.

In addition to the SBS’s Community Engaged Learning program, multiple other campus partners have provided support in the Bee Campus USA designation, including the Office of Sustainability. The U is lucky—it has an affiliated botanical garden, Red Butte Garden, which has incorporated multiple pollinator-friendly spaces and awareness campaigns into their efforts. The U also has an affiliated natural history museum, which maintains an extensive insect collection managed by Bee Campus USA Committee member Christy Bills, and leads multiple insect-oriented outreach events for the public.

Utah is a bee biodiversity hotspot, with over 1,100 species of bees identified in the state. A new U Bee Campus website will include information about these important insects, and will also include a list of native pollinator-friendly plants, simple landscaping techniques to provide habitat for them, and links to current pollinator awareness events and active research at the U.

A version of this e-article first appeared in @theU.