By Emma Pettingill
Contributing Writer
Susquehanna was officially certified as the first Pennsylvania affiliate of Bee Campus USA, joining a list of 50 campuses across North America who have been recognized by the initiative for protecting pollinators.
Bee Campus USA is an organization whose main goal is to protect the world’s pollinators by raising awareness, according to their website. According to Derek Martin, Susquehanna’s Sustainability Coordinator, becoming an affiliate for this organization is not simple.
“Beyond the tastiness of making honey and providing beeswax, [bees] also pollinate, which the most important thing that they do for us,” Martin said.
According to Martin, 30 percent of the world’s crops survive because of pollinators like bees and butterflies, meaning without them these crops would no longer exist.
Martin explained that once recognized, universities must keep reapplying and show campus advancement. The initiative has a set of requirements that must be met: a committee of faculty, staff and students who oversees the work done on the affiliated campus, a habitat plan for the campus’ bees, a pest management plan, yearly awareness activities, at least one pollinators workshop every two years, a website that shows they are a part of the Bees Campus USA and gives a list of native plant species so people know what they can and cannot plant, as well as having a presence on campus.
Alongside Martin, the Susquehanna Bee Keepers club’s dedication and hard work is recognized by this accomplishment. The Bee Keepers Club is a student group that learns about and takes care of the bees and hives on campus. The club meets weekly for an hour and tend to the hives on the weekends.
The university currently has three hives located near the campus garden, and are hoping to eventually add more.
“Personally, it’s really exciting to see how the campus is changing especially since the bees are in a rough spot environmentally, so having the certification means that we are doing better in trying to help them live longer and that’s the main part of the club,” said Katherine Petrik, president of the Bee Keepers Club.
