University of Southern Indiana Bee Campus USA
The University of Southern Indiana is an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, an initiative by the Xerces Society that unites communities to protect native pollinators. Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystems, aiding in plant reproduction and supporting biodiversity. They come in various forms, including birds, butterflies, beetles, moths, flies, and especially bees. An increase in native plant species will correlate with an increase in native pollinator populations. This will lead to an increase in the overall health of the ecosystem found on the USI campus.
"The survival of pollinators depends on the presence of native plant species. That's why I was excited to join the effort to help USI become a Bee Campus," says Dr. Edith Hardcastle, Associate Professor of Biology. "This designation makes our campus a living laboratory for conservation studies and provides unlimited student research opportunities. It has already fostered collaboration across disciplines, with other institutions of higher learning and our broader community."
Recent News
USI to become official bee campus to support pollinators, The Shield, USI Student News
November 6, 2024
USI becomes affiliate of Bee Campus USA, USI Press Release
October 21, 2024
Upcoming Projects
Beekeeping
Bees hives will be installed in Spring of 2025, near the Theater Support Center.
Environmental Science Day
Environmental Science Day: On October 28th, the Pott College of Science and Engineering hosted area high schools for students to learn about careers in environmental science, the effects of climate change, USI's natural resources, and the efforts to become a Bee Campus. The Pollinator Garden was one of the stops for the students to discuss how everyone can play a role in pollinator conservation.
Service Learning
On November 8, 2024, the Plant Systematics class spent the morning on a service-learning project in the pollinator garden, removing invasive Asian species including Lily of the Valley and Liriope and in their place, installing native sedges and grasses including Little Bluestem, Awl-fruited sedge and Copper-shouldered oval sedge. The native species provide habitat for our pollinators and will provide a green matrix between flowers and shrubs, removing any need for additional mulch application in the future. A native witch hazel tree was also planted. This was made possible by the generous donation of these plants from Hillside Gardens.
Pollinator Focused Research and Projects:
Honors Capstone Project: Meredith Shaefer is investigating the opportunities and barriers in adoption of native plant species in urban landscapes. She has interviewed a range of stakeholders including landscape designers, commercial and residential greenhouse owners, and the President of the local Native Plant Society. Her results will be presented at the Honors Symposium on November 18 at USI.
Biology 499: Independent Research:
Nolan Durham, Biology Major, helped to establish Bee campus at USI by writing a grant to fund the establishment of the pollinator garden.
Sam Speir: Science Teaching Major, initiated a seed germination project to grow native plants here in the USI greenhouses to supply new plants for the pollinator gardens. He has also been instrumental in establishing the website to created an information hub about the Bee Campus effort.
Honors 129: Native Flower Power:
Spring 2025. 1 hour of credit. Offered on Mondays, 11am- 12pm. How growing native plants at home and public spaces has become a national movement and the positive impact it has on biodiversity and climate resilience.
How to find native plants to support pollinators:
Indiana Native Plant Society: Sale happens spring and fall at Wesselman Woods Nature Center. Follow their Facebook page for specific upcoming dates.
Information on choosing native plants at the Indiana Native Plant Society website
New Harmony Native Trees and Shrubs: The best location locally to find woody native plants, trees and shrubs.
Bloomington IN: Mays Nursery, Abell Nursery, Bloomington Valley Nursery: A two hour drive from Evansville. They carry an extensive list of native plants and you can see their lists online.
Prairie Nursery - Mail order. You can order native plants appropriate for our growing region from this nursery in live plugs or seed.
To learn more about USI’s Bee Campus initiatives, contact Dr. Jason Hardgrave at jhardgrave@usi.edu or 812-465-7017.
