In December of 2022 Lower Columbia College was recognized by Bee City USA® that we met the standards for certification as a Bee Campus USA affiliate. Bee City USA® is designed to marshal the strengths of educational campuses for the benefit of pollinators. LCC has joined many other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.
Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities and campuses to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants, and free of pesticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.
About Native Bees
Bees transfer pollen between flowers, enabling the incredible diversity of plants on our planet to flower and fruit. Pollinators are a keystone species in essentially every ecosystem on earth, enabling the reproduction of over 85% of all flowering plants and 67% of agricultural crops. In addition to the well-known honey bee (Apis mellifera), a species brought to the United States from Europe, there are more than 20,000 described species of bees globally, and around 3,600 species of bees native to the United States. While bees are the most important pollinator, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, wasps, bats, and hummingbirds also contribute to pollination.
Pollinator Decline
Research has shown significant declines in native pollinator population sizes and ranges globally with up to 40% of pollinator species on earth at risk of extinction in the coming years as a result of habitat loss, the use of harmful pesticides, and climate change.
Get Involved
Leave things a little wild in your city or campus this fall! Leaves, hollow and pithy stems, brush piles, dead wood, soil, and flower heads all provide important winter shelter for many invertebrates, including native bees.
- Bumble bees queens burrow an inch or two into the earth to hibernate for winter. An extra thick layer of leaves is welcome protection from the elements.
- Tunnel-nesting solitary bees, such as leafcutter and mason bees, need narrow tunnels or other tiny spaces in dead wood, hollow stems, or brush piles.
- Red-banded hairstreak butterflies lay their eggs on fallen oak leaves, which become the first food of the caterpillars when they emerge.
- Luna moth caterpillars spin their cocoons in leaves, which fall as trees shed their foliage and lie hidden on the ground.
- Woolly bear caterpillars tuck themselves into leaf piles for protection from cold weather.
There is no “right” way to participate in leave the leaves. You can encourage your community to let leaves rest where they fall, make piles in the back corner of a yard or park, or use them to mulch garden beds. Just avoid shredding the leaves, and keep in mind: if they wait too long to move leaves around, that good habitat may become occupied by their winter residents!
Use the following tools to help inspire your city or campus to #LeavetheLeaves this fall!
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Bees need flowers for food, nesting habitats, and to be protected from pesticides.
Creating havens for pollinators and other beneficial through landscaping can make
a real impact, and it doesn't take up much space! From spall apartnment patios, to
communal outdoor work spaces you can help pollinators by hanging flower baskets and
creating potted garden spaces with pollinator friendly flowers.
Plant Lists | Xerces Society
Garden Location: the garden is located in the green space between the Alan Thompson Library and Applied
Arts buildings. See Campus Map.
Interested in helping with the garden or honoring a loved one through a donation or
special plant purchase?
Please Contact
Dr. Louis LaPierre
(360) 442-2884
llapierre@lowercolumbia.edu
Lower Columbia School Gardens (LCSG) empowers our community by connecting kids and families with real food and hands-on learning. Through dynamic garden and cooking programs, we cultivate health, equity, life-long learning, and stewardship of the world around us.
- Learn more about the Lower Columbia School Gardens (LCSG)