Pace University”™s Pleasantville campus has become certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, which is an initiative of the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation based in Portland, Oregon. The organization raises awareness of the role pollinators play in communities and encourages participants to enhance their habitats and educate students, staff and faculty. More than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including blueberries, apples, squash, strawberries and almonds.
“Becoming a Bee Campus is important to Pace as it shows our commitment to creating a sustainable campus that will function both as a healthy ecosystem for native plants and animals and as a living laboratory for students,” said Dyson College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor Michael J. Rubbo.
Ryan McEnany, Pace University”™s director of energy and resiliency said, “The Bee Campus USA designation is significant because it brings attention to the fact that pollinator populations have been in decline. This extends further than the colony collapse disorder in honeybee populations and is also affecting local bees, butterflies and other organisms that help create fruits, flowers and other plant life. On a global level, 33 percent of the food we eat is made possible by insect pollinators and 90 percent of wild plants and flowers need pollinators for survival.”
The designation also comes at a time when a group of Pace University communication studies students are filming a documentary titled “Bee Aware,” which focuses on the importance of bees and the role they play around the globe. They will work on the documentary through the summer and expect it will be completed in the fall.
