Southern Oregon University
IN-24: Innovation A

Southern Oregon University collaborated with Bee City USA, a private nonprofit organization based in Asheville, North Carolina, to establish a Bee Campus USA designation. This designation recognizes campuses that commit to a set of practices that support pollinators, including bees, butterflies, birds, and bats, among thousands of other species.

Our project had several goals: to work with Bee City USA to establish a Bee Campus USA designation; to organize for SOU to meet the requirements of Bee Campus USA designation; and, to establish broad support across the campus and in the community for pollinator-friendly policies and practices.

SOU students, staff and faculty started this project in October 2014. The first goal was to collaborate with Bee City USA, the Asheville-based nonprofit that established the Bee City USA designation, to create a "Bee Campus" designation that would parallel the "Bee City" one. We worked with Phyllis Stiles, Executive Director of Bee City USA, and in February 2015, our first goal was achieved when Bee City USA released the newly-created Bee Campus USA guidelines, which included our recommendations.

In parallel, SOU's Bee Campus Subcommittee worked on building support for pollinator-friendly policies and practices on campus. These practices include: 1) establishing a permanent university committee that develops a Campus Pollinator Habitat Plan, works to minimize the use of harmful practices on campus—including the reduction or elimination of harmful pesticides, and supports healthy pollinator habitats; 2) hosting annual events that celebrate pollinators, their contributions, and the university’s designation as a Bee Campus; 3) surveying and encouraging service learning projects that benefit pollinators; 4) offering courses and/or workshops on Pollinator Ecology; 5) posting educational signage that educates the public about campus pollinator-friendly practices, such as pollinator gardens; 6) maintaining the university’s recognition as a Bee Campus USA designee; and, 7) maintaining a website that shares the university's Bee Campus USA news.

Through a six-month process, the university was able to align its operations to integrate these practices and policies and, in April 2015, Bee City USA recognized Southern Oregon University as the nation’s first Bee Campus USA designee.

For more information about the Bee Campus USA designation or to review the press release announcing that Southern Oregon University was recognized as the nation’s first Bee Campus USA designee, see: Bee City USA, “First Bee Campus USA Launches At Southern Oregon University!” http://www.beecityusa.org/bee-campus-usa.html.

For more information about SOU's work to establish the Bee Campus USA designation and to become the first designated campus, read our case study at https://hub.aashe.org/browse/casestudy/14387/bee-campus-usa-as-a-model-for-pollinator-friendly-campuses.