SCC named Bee Campus USA affiliate
With the support of the Columbus County Beekeepers Association and Bee City Whiteville, Southeastern Community College obtained Bee Campus USA status. The mission of this Bee Campus at SCC is to sustain pollinators by providing a healthy habitat that is rich in a variety of native plants and free of pesticides.
“It’s not really a benefit to us at Southeastern Community College,” said Carol Ann Lydon, Associate Dean of Research. “It’s a benefit to the planet. Whiteville is already a Bee City, and this is a perfect opportunity for us to partner with them.”
Lydon explained that obtaining a Bee Campus USA status is a commitment to minimizing hazards to all pollinators, not just bees. This commitment is achieved through a pest management plan for the campus in which insecticides and pesticides are minimally used. The commitment ensures that SCC plants native-only plants with an emphasis on plants that attract pollinators such as trees, shrubs or a garden.
“We also plan to plant a pollinator habitat along the Greenway Trail once that’s up and running,” Lydon said. “So, this project won’t have anything to do with honeybees because they aren’t native and tend to drive out much more effective pollinators than they are.”
SCC’s Sustainability/Bee Campus Committee, Lydon said, made the decision to become a Bee Campus USA affiliate. The committee helps guide and track SCC’s Bee Campus USA efforts by implementing educational activities for students and the community and making sure native plants are planted on campus
SCC provided educational activities centered around pollinators at the annual Earth Day event on campus, where 4th graders engaged with local museums and environmental organizations. Lydon said that SCC’s Agribusiness Technology Instructor Dawn Hinshaw covers pollinators in her regular course and summer camp curriculum.
Bee Campus USA is a national program that recognizes colleges and universities committed to creating pollinator-friendly campuses. The program is part of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and encourages schools to support bees, butterflies, and other pollinators through sustainable landscaping, education, and community involvement.
Thinking globally and acting locally, Bee Campus USA provides a framework for university and college campus communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites and reducing the use of pesticides, according to the official Bee City USA website.
