Pollinators are not only extraordinarily important to human life and health, but to the vast majority of plants and ecosystems around the world. While some plants are capable of pollination without the help of animals, a whopping 90% of plant species are unable to do this task without them (NRCS and USDA, 2005). It’s crucial to recognize the importance of not only managed pollinators such as honey bees (Apis mellifera), but also wild and native pollinators (Plant Diversity, 2022). Pollinators, particularly honey bees, are facing population decline primarily due to human-driven habitat loss, fragmentation, and a complex web of other related issues. Much of the natural habitats that are left are isolated and degraded by invasive plants or agricultural pollution (Vaughan et al, 2005). Providing habitats for pollinators is one very feasible solution to keeping pollinators alive. “One of the largest threats to bees is a lack of safe habitat where they can build homes and find a variety of nutritious food sources” (The Bee Conservancy, 2022). Pollinator habitats that are fully equipped to fulfill the needs of the pollinators are extremely important to the survival of pollinators and our ecosystem.

Our group was challenged to design a pollinator habitat for GVSU's campus. The habitat needs to attract pollinators, educate the public, and inspire environmental change in the GVSU community.

We want to change the current plant species in rain gardens on campus to include more pollinator-friendly plants. This would allow pollinators to have easier access to food while the plants also serve the purpose of a rain garden.

Our Project Plan:

• incorporate pollinator friendly plants/habitat into new and existing rain gardens on GVSU's campus

• educate individuals on the importance of pollinator habitat to help influence more people into planting pollinator friendly plants

Below are specific plants we have chosen to include based on stakeholder suggestions.

We have chosen these plants based off the information gathered from our sources, in addition to recommendations given by Mike Conner who is highly educated on what plants are best to live in wetland areas. They are all capable of living in extremely wet conditions which would be necessary for they would be planted in rain gardens, and are specifically great food sources for pollinators.

To the left is an image of GVSU's Allendale campus from the GVSU Storm Water Initiative Page. This image provides a list of green infrastructure on campus that help to alleviate issues associated with storm water in developed areas, as well as the location of each type of infrastructure.

As of 2010, there were 24 rain gardens installed on GVSU's Allendale campus, with the largest being on the south side of the Kelly Family Sports Center, which largely resembles a wetland area.

Implementing this project would be as simple as replacing some of the existing plants in these gardens with the above provided pollinator friendly plants. This allows us to provide a habitat for pollinators, and maintain the roles of the rain gardens. Ideally, sprouts or small plants would be purchased from local nurseries and planted by the Grounds Maintenance staff or SAP volunteers. Posts with a sign, as the prototype below shows, would also be added to each garden to enhance education.