What are you doing on May 20 on World Bee Day? Northwest Vista College will likely be celebrating its official designation as the first Bee Campus USA affiliate in San Antonio.
This doesn’t mean a swarm of bees will come to the campus on May 20; instead, it means the campus is being recognized as a natural place for pollinators such as bees. Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which 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.
Dr. Eric Madrid, PhD, NVC’s chair of Natural & Physical Sciences, said earning this recognition confirms what NVC is already doing with its conservation efforts and attention to landscaping.
This opportunity came about thanks to former NVC student Maddie Orquiz, who is an intern with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and adjunct instructor Andre Felton. The University of Texas at San Antonio is also on track to become a Bee Campus affiliate.
The United States is also home to just over 3,600 native (wild) bee species, such as bumble bees, leafcutter bees, sweat bees, mason bees, longhorn bees, and mining bees, according to Bee City USA. It adds native pollinators are essential because they evolved alongside native plants and, in many cases, are the most effective pollinators — and, in some instances, the only pollinators. Pollinators are keystone species in every terrestrial ecosystem on earth, assisting in plant reproduction and supporting other wildlife species. Pollinators touch our lives in numerous ways daily, including being responsible for approximately one-third of the food and drink we consume. The value of crop pollination has been estimated to be between $18 and $27 billion annually in the U.S.
