Pollinator Habitat Installations

The primary outlet for this project will be the "Greenhouse", which is UK's Environment & Sustainability Residential College. The majority of Greenhouse students do not come from an agricultural background. Students in Greenhouse are required to enroll in two connected courses, one course per semester. In the fall semester, students enroll in UK 100 Pathways and Barriers to Environmental Sustainability. The course consists of four modules: (1) Urban Food and Forests, (2) Barriers to Sustainability, (3) Water: From Local to Global, and (4) Ecosystem Protection and Restoration. As part of the Ecosystem Protection and Restoration module, students will participate in hands-on projects such as creating butterfly and pollinator habitat and constructing floating wetlands. In addition students from the following classes will utilize pollinator projects through hands on activities and labs: ENT 300 (Insect Biology), ENT 310 (Field Crop Entomology), and ENT 320 (Horticultural Entomology). The Garman Entomology Club (a graduate student organization) will also participate. Students will initiate projects by starting seeds and caring for plants in on-campus greenhouses, thereby learning principles of germination and plant growth and development. They will then select specific plants for each project, install plants and structural components, and design signage and other educational materials for the projects. The habitat that these students create will be implemented into green spaces on the UK campus. The sites chosen for these gardens were chosen based on their location along the path of the guided tours provided to potential students. All plant materials will utilize species native to Kentucky. Plantings will be pollinator friendly and be locally adapted and suited for establishment. Plantings will be established to represent native ecosystems similar to the UK arboretum layout where feasible (e.g. native prairies, bottomland hardwoods, etc).