Urban Bee-utification
Introduction
It is no secret that pollinators are imperative to the environment, but some people may not realize the true impact they have on the world around us. Common pollinators: moths, butterflies, wasps, beetles, and most famously, honey bees, provide ecosystem services like increasing soil and water quality, and being responsible for up to 30% of our crops and pollinate up to 90% of wild plants (Ottinger, 2018). The vegetation found in a pollinator garden protects the soil from erosion while also stabilizing nitrogen from the soil and atmosphere (Wratten, 2012). These plants act as a buffer for stormwater entering local streams and drains, absorbing up to 97% of sediment from synthetic fertilizer runoff. They also reduce nitrogen contamination of surface water before it hits drainage points of the watershed (Wratten, 2012). These actions help protect biodiversity, which makes life on Earth more resilient. Biodiversity also works to preserve resources for these pollinator habitats, as the decline of plant diversity negatively affects pollinator populations (Burr, et al. 2018).
The decline of honey bees and other pollinators seriously threatens our food supply. Despite this, there continues to be a trend of pollinator habitats destroyed. The main causes contributing to this loss are large scale agricultural practices, impermeable surfaces, and urbanization (Ottinger, 2018). It is important to continue enhancing current pollinator habitats and create new locations for pollinators so that they have greater protection and areas for foraging. By defending pollinator health and habitat, we also protect human health; as it is important to keep in mind just how much of the food supply is affected by pollinator populations. This includes crops as well as the meat and dairy industries. Therefore, ensuring spaces for pollinator habitats fortifies the beneficial relationship between humans and our valued pollinators. Pollinators do well in lush rural landscapes; however, as urbanization increases, it becomes important to adapt spaces to fit the need. That is what our group is proposing with our project —to dedicate a space in downtown Grand Rapids to a pollinator garden. This project is not only intended to help maintain the health of pollinators like honey bees, but also serve as an educational tool for the local community and Grand Valley students.
The Plan
Pollinator habitat located on Grand Valley State University’s downtown campus, near the Eberhard Center on the Grand River
ArtPrize art housed within habitat - late summer/early fall
QR coded informational signs:
Map showing purpose of various flora
Information about what plants pollinators are attracted to
Online audio guide
Host community events and volunteer opportunities:
Mead making
Honey tasting
Habitat upkeep
Stakeholders
Our team prepared a variety of specific questions and spoke with numerous stakeholders in order to gain a more comprehensive evaluation of our pollinator habitat plans. Our stakeholders helped assess the feasibility of our plans and highlight specific areas where our project required further development.
Peter Wampler
Professor of Geology - We reached out to Peter Wampler because of his experience with stormwater management and the environment in hopes he would have suggestions we had not considered about the hydrology of our site. Wampler did not seem to have many suggestions for the project as he did not feel he had adequate knowledge on pollinators and pollinator habitats, but he was very interested in the project. Wampler suggested an additional pollinator habitat location could be in the Niemeyer Honors College courtyards, and he mentioned Grand Rapids Public Museum’s interest in pollinator habitats as another possible stakeholder.
Steve Snell
Arborist for GVSU - Steve Snell knows the best ways to implement green spaces on GVSU as well as the possible effects of planting these spaces. He recommends we either use perennials or plants that are able to re-seed, and he highlights we ensure that they are not invasive. He recommends that our pollinator habitat should be in an area that is not maintained currently by Grand Valley.
Anne Marie Fauvel
Professor, Pollinator Professional - Anne Marie Fauvel has extensive experience with pollinators. She pointed out that we would need to complete extensive planning including municipal codes in order to ensure the feasibility of our project. She also questioned who would be maintaining the pollinator habitat, and she suggests the Grand Rapids Public Museum as a possible resource for this. Regarding art within our project, Fauvel suggested it could be a location for GVSU students to enter ArtPrize or simply a space to display student art.
Yumiko Jakobcic
Director at the Office of Sustainability Practices at GVSU - Yumiko Jakobcic highlighted that she supports our project and considers QR codes to be a good idea so that we can continually update information if necessary.
Michael Hinkle
GVSU SAP manager - Micheal Hinkle provided advice in the area of actual beekeeping and the educational features. He recommended a gardening workshop as it is hands-on and will get public attention. He also suggested having separate QR codes for each species of flower/plant with a list of associated pollinators. His final suggestion was using a landscape architect to create an art piece that is also the pollinator garden space.
River City Wild Ones - Education Committee
Nonprofit Environmental Education Organization - This organization provided intensive outside resources regarding pollinators and pollinator habitats. They suggested including native pollinators within our pollinator garden by planting native plants, and they emphasized the importance of native pollinators instead of focusing on only honey bees. Additionally, they highlighted the need to include plans for maintenance within our garden so that it can remain fully functional. Finally, Wild Ones even provided other organizations to contact in search of grants for the project.
Main Features
Art Installations
ArtPrize- One of Grand Rapids largest community events, ArtPrize gains attention and tourists from all over the nation. Incorporating pieces from ArtPrize in the pollinator habitat will be a major attraction point, giving the all the more reason to come explore.
Student- With numerous art exhibition halls on campus, art at Grand Valley is celebrated and incorporated at every turn. A student-made, weatherproof art piece alongside the trail would compliment the pollinator habitat well and bring good publicity.
Informational Signs with QR Codes
QR codes allow visitors to easily scan and better understand what they are looking at: Plant name/species, associated pollinators, nativity, etc.
QR Codes would need to be managed and updated by an affiliated staff member over long term. The cost to have a QR code is low, and sign production only has a one time cost.
Rooftop Vegetation
Green roofs are the incorporation of vegetated areas in urban locations with various purposes. Some of these benefits include the absorption of heat, which combats the high concentration of concrete that urbanity induces, and absorption of rainwater, which combats erosion that happens downstream river after a heavy storm. At its core, green roofs are designed to bring some natural benefits into a built environment.
Grand Valley is working to alleviate food scarcity and create opportunities for more nutritious options. A key feature of this project is the use of rooftop space to grow local and sustainable food. In accordance with GVSU's SAP, our project would include an extension onto the Pew campus for urban rooftop farming projects. We have targeted the L.V. Eberhard Center (EC) and the John C. Kennedy Hall of Engineering (KEN). These two buildings are closest to the pollinator habitat site and would most benefit our project. This also open up the opportunity for other buildings to incorporate rooftop vegetation along the Grand River. Directly North of EC is the Grand Rapids Public Museum, who has a growing interest in working with pollinator habitats.
Forage List
An example of facts included within the QR coded signs are plant species in the garden and the pollinators that they attract
Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia)- attracts long-tongued species like hummingbirds and bumblebees.
Eryngium yuccifolium (Rattlesnake master)- attracts Monarch butterflies, skippers, and a wide diversity of bees.
Solidago speciosa (Showy Goldenrod)- attracts Andrenid bees, seat bees, large carpenter bees, bumble bees, and honey bees
Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)- attracts, bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds
Liatris pycnostachya (Prairie blazing star)- attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, native bees, bumblebees, and honey bees
Crataegus crus-galli (Cockspur hawthorn)- bees, butterflies, and moths
Community Events
Our group developed a variety of events that aim to better engage with the community.
Honey Tasting
Depending on the source of pollen, all honey has a different flavor and even color!
Some people may believe that all honey taste alike. We predict by the mere mention of a honey tasting event, shocked patrons will come to see for themselves!
Mead Making
Mead making encompasses the use of honey and yeast to drive a fermentation process resulting in a honey wine, otherwise known as mead.
Volunteer Habitat Upkeep
Volunteer opportunities, otherwise known as adopt a pollinator, include flower/seed planting and maintenance of this friendly pollinator garden.
Meet the Team
Cameron Cleveland
B.A. Environmental and Sustainability Studies
clevelca@mail.gvsu.edu
Jacob Grimes
B.S. ENS & Geography-Urban and Regional Planning
B.A. Spanish
grimejac@gmail.com
Lily Kostanko
B.A. Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Biology
Spanish
kostankl@mail.gvsu.edu
Ashley Schwartz
B.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Environmental and Sustainability Studies
schwaras@mail.gvsu.edu
Claire Ureste
B.A. Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Studio Art
urestec@mail.gvsu.edu
References
Burr, A., Hall, D. M., & Schaeg, N. (2018). The perfect lawn: Exploring neighborhood socio-cultural drivers for insect pollinator habitat. Urban Ecosystems, 21(6), 1123–1137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-018-0798-y
Dylewski, Ł., Maćkowiak, Ł., & Banaszak‐Cibicka, W. (2019). Are all urban green spaces a favourable habitat for pollinator communities? Bees, butterflies and hoverflies in different urban green areas. Ecological Entomology, 44(5), 678–689. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12744
Elzaki, E., & Tian, G. (2020). Economic evaluation of the honey yield from four forest tree species and the future prospect of the forest beekeeping in Sudan. Agroforestry Systems, 94(3), 1037–1045. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-019-00478-1
Graham, M., Ates, S., Melathopoulos, A. P., Moldenke, A. R., DeBano, S. J., Best, L. R., & Higgins, C. W. (2021). Partial shading by solar panels delays bloom, increases floral abundance during the late-season for pollinators in a dryland, agrivoltaic ecosystem. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86756-4.
“Great Pollinator Plants for Michigan.” Gardenia.net, https://www.gardenia.net/guide/great-pollinator-plants-for-michigan.
Gwak, J. H., Lee, B. K., Lee, W. K., & Sohn, S. Y. (2017). Optimal location selection for the installation of urban green roofs considering honeybee habitats along with socio-economic and environmental effects. Journal of Environmental Management, 189, 125–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.022
Kovács-Hostyánszki, A., Földesi, R., Báldi, A., Endrédi, A., & Jordán, F. (2019). The vulnerability of plant-pollinator communities to honeybee decline: A comparative network analysis in different habitat types. Ecological Indicators, 97, 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.09.047
Ottinger, D. (2018). Why We Should Preserve Native Pollinator Habitat. Countryside & Small Stock Journal, 102(5), 44–47.
Roberts, C. (2016). Pollinators and pollinator habitat on federal lands: Best management practices (Ser. Environmental Research Advances). Nova Publishers.
Sidhu, C. S., & Joshi, N. K. (2016). Establishing Wildflower Pollinator Habitats in Agricultural Farmland to Provide Multiple Ecosystem Services. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00363
Smart, M., Otto, C., Cornman, R., & Iwanowicz, D. (2017). Using colony monitoring devices to evaluate the impacts of land use and nutritional value of forage on Honey Bee Health. Agriculture, 8(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture8010002
Smart, M. D., Pettis, J. S., Euliss, N., & Spivak, M. S. (2016). Land use in the Northern Great Plains region of the U.S. influences the survival and productivity of honey bee colonies. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 230, 139–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.030
Wratten, S. D., Gillespie, M., Decourtye, A., Mader, E., & Desneux, N. (2012). Pollinator habitat enhancement: Benefits to other ecosystem services. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 159, 112–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.06.020
