In the summer of 2022, UFV's first pollinator garden was planted behind Lá:lem te Baker. It came on the heels of the devastating heat dome in the summer of 2021, and the catastrophic flooding that came months later. Jennifer Martel, Sustainability Manager in UFV's Office of Sustainability, says those two events killed millions of pollinators.
"Being in an agriculture region, knowing how critical they are to our economy and ecosystem, we thought we'd do our little part to support native pollinators," Jennifer explains. "We also wanted somewhere for people to connect with nature and learn more about pollinators."
She says they were very intentional about what they planted, working with UFV staff and faculty to consider things you might not even think of. For instance, did you know some bees can only see certain colors?
"There is one plant where the flowers start white and turn pink once pollinated," Jennifer offers. "The bees can't see pink, so they go to the flowers that are still white and need pollinating."
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