
GARDENS & GREENSPACES
Bee Campus USA
What’s All The Buzz About?
GSU is committed to the preservation of pollinators and their habitats.
On September 27, 2024, GSU received a “Bee Campus” designation from the Xerces Society for its pollinator-friendly practices at the Decatur Campus. Find out more about Bee Campus Commitments at: https://beecityusa.org/bee-campus-usa-commitments/
Pollinators are crucial to our landscapes, food supplies, and agricultural economies. Pollinators are responsible for approximately one out of three bites of food we eat. Between 75%-95% of all flowering plants need help pollinating. Unfortunately, some pollinator populations are at risk due to loss of habitats, pollution, chemical use, and changes in climate.
GSU aims to exemplify pollinator-friendly methods and environments by being a part of Bee Campus USA by the Xerces Society. GSU is currently supporting pollinators through our several gardens and greenspaces.
- Georgia State University is interested in Bee Campus USA certification as we want to increase both our university and local community’s awareness of our efforts in sustainability, native plant propagation, and educational programming related to native pollinators and their habitats.
- Like many other Bee Campus USA certified institutions, Georgia State University has an office of Sustainability that advocates for expanding greenspace in urban areas, planting native gardens, establishing and maintaining pollinator-friendly spaces. Our two-year goal is to increase native plants and pollinator gardens across all campuses. We are also reviewing and updating our integrated pest management policy. We have already eliminated pesticide and herbicide application in all our native plant, vegetable, community, and pollinator gardens. Moving forward, we are exploring options to reduce pesticide and herbicide applications in non-native greenspace.
- Our flagship Bee Campus USA site will be the Decatur Campus, which has a five-acre Native Plant Garden, and a separate 2-acre community vegetable garden. Georgia State University has been dedicated to the Native Plant Garden for over 30 years. Georgia State University has over 5,000 native plant species in our five-acre Native Plant Garden. The garden is certified by the Georgia Native Plant Society. Our Decatur Native Plant Garden has the world’s largest collection of ferns. Although many species are non-native, they do provide nesting sites and a safe habitat for many native organisms.
- Our large garden has the support of a community army, which is usually more than 250 volunteers. We are committed to maintaining this garden and our community extends beyond GSU faculty, staff, students. Our community partnerships includes the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Atlanta Science Festival, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Native Plant Society, Master Gardners from Dekalb, Rockdale, and Gwinnett counties, as well as local K-12 groups which come for site visits and educational tours. This Native Plant Garden also sells native plants to the community. We sell over 8,000 native plants per year and earn $100,000 annually in sales each year to support the garden.
- Our goal is to increase enrichment activities across the campuses, using the experiences from our flagship Native Plant Garden as a success model. A bee campus certification will increase the visibility of our programs and allow our exceptional programming to reach an even larger audience.
Our landscaping operations at Georgia State University are designed to improve campus aesthetics while also keeping sustainability in mind. While walking around campus, you will notice a mixture of both native and exotic plants in the campus landscaping. As we grow, we are working to increase pollinator-friendly plants across our campuses. We are also working to minimize our chemical pesticide usage by incorporating alternative methods like horticultural oils. We also aim to educate our employees as well as the GSU community on the benefits of insects in our environment.
Our two-year goal is to increase native plants and pollinator gardens across all campuses. We have an integrated pest management policy. We have already eliminated pesticide and herbicide application in all our native plant, vegetable, community, and pollinator gardens. Moving forward, we are exploring options to reduce pesticide and herbicide applications in non-native greenspace.
Resources:
The gardens act as a natural multidisciplinary outdoor enrichment site for faculty and students. Our educational enrichment commitment to native plants and pollinators is best demonstrated by examples of educational programming. An annual conservation, pollinator, and native plant seminar series has been hosted in the Native Plant Garden. Our theater groups have held native plant focused performances in the garden. Our English curriculum included poem-writing centered around native plants. Our art department has built and deployed bird houses for native cavity nesting birds as well as hosted ‘art in the garden’ painting sessions centered around native organisms.
For multiple years we’ve held the great pollinator census count in the garden. We are partnered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on a conservation project focused on proliferating endangered and protected native pitcher plant species. Our Life Sciences faculty have created an outdoor research site at the Native Plant Garden. For years we have led year-long student research projects centered around native plants and pollinators. We also provided summer research opportunities to our Peach State Louise Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation scholars.
GSU courses that utilize campus gardens include:
HON 1000 – Urban Sustainability SeminarClarkston Campus: ENVS Course – The course is designed to teach principles of environmental biology with respect to plant biology
From volunteering, to joining a student club, there are several ways to engage with gardens and greenspaces on campus.
Be sure to follow @gsu_gardens for university-wide gardens and greenspace updates.
Pollinators are slowly declining due to several factors including loss of habitats, pollution, chemical use, and changes in climate. Here are several ways you can support the pollinator community:
Plant your own pollinator garden
A pollinator garden is a cluster of nectar and pollen-producing plants with the sole intent of attracting pollinators. Consisting mostly of native plants, these gardens make the jobs of pollinators a little easier as they pick up and transfer pollen grains from plant to plant. By planting a pollinator garden, you are helping the environment and welcoming a colorful addition to your yard space!
Not sure where to buy native plants? You can find a variety at Georgia State’s Native Plant Botanical Garden’s seasonal sales! Click here for more information
Avoid using pesticides
Although using pesticides can be beneficial to get rid of unwelcome guests in your garden, they are just as harmful to pollinators stopping by to do their job. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, pesticides’ five most common active ingredients are “glyphosate, 2,4-D, atrazine, dicamba and malathion”. Some alternatives to pesticide use could be using “soft” chemicals, parasites, and predators. For more information on pesticide alternatives click here .
Georgia State University has a standing committee consisting of faculty and students dedicated to Bee Campus USA. The committee meets regularly to discuss our certified garden on the Perimeter College campus as well as our other gardens and greenspaces across Georgia State’s campuses.
Nicola Allen (Co-chair) – Interim Director PC Native Garden (Decatur)
Jennifer Wilson (Co-chair) – Manager, Office of Sustainability Initiatives
Susan Ridley (Co-chair) – Sr. Director, Finance and Administration and Risk Management
Michelle Arth – College Tech Mgr
Zachariah Degon – Laboratory Coordinator
Mark Graves – Tenured Assistant Professor and Interim Associate Chair of Life and Earth Sciences; Perimeter College and Clarkston Campus
Shane Guy – Perimeter College student member
Riona Harris – Student, Student Environmental Team
Diane Lahaise – Tenured Associate Professor
Vicki Lloyd – Garden Community Voluntee
Elin McDonough – Dir, Civic Engagement, Student Affairs
Aaron Pacheco - Intern, Office of Sustainability
Rob Paltz – Operations Manager
Maddie Riddell – Serve@State Student Director, Student Civic Engagement
Julia Simonsen – Intern, Office of Sustainability
Susan Skeen – Business Manager II; Mathematics, Computer Science & Engineering, Finance Department, Perimeter College, Clarkston campus
Brianna White – Intern, Office of Sustainability