The National Wildlife Federation is asking college and university students, faculty, and staff to take action on their campus to provide healthy habitat for pollinators.
Take Action for Pollinators
By taking the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Campus Pollinator Pledge, campuses are committing to protect pollinators by providing healthy habitat through creation, restoration, and protection efforts. Campuses that take the pledge are also committing to engage and educate their campus community.
Protect Bees, Bats, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators on Campus
Pollinators play a critical role in providing food for both people and wildlife. As pollinators move from plant to plant in search of pollen or nectar to eat, they pick up and carry away a plant's pollen. When they move to the next plant, they fertilize that plant with the pollen, allowing the plant to reproduce and form seeds, berries, fruits, and other foods. Pollinators are even an important food source themselves, acting as a source of protein for countless species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Read more about bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Have fun while learning more about pollinators!
How to Take Action
As part of the pledge, campuses are asked to identify one or more actions that they will take to protect pollinators. These action opportunities are listed below. Participating campuses are awarded a Campus Pollinator Pledge badge to display their commitment.
Launch a campus campaign to support pollinators highlighting why pollinators are important and how individuals can take action on campus and at home.
Plant milkweed and native nectar plants on campus and host tours and educational events around this project.
Engage students in earning the NWF EcoLeader Pollinator Badge, demonstrating leadership to protect pollinators on campus through educational awareness, research and on-the-ground conservation efforts.
Convene campus maintenance/operations department staff and identify opportunities for revised mowing programs and milkweed/native nectar plant planting programs.
Expand invasive species removal programs to make it possible to re-establish native milkweed and nectar plants to the landscape.
Adopt pesticide practices that are not harmful to pollinators.
Initiate or support citizen science efforts that help vulnerable and endangered pollinators native to your region (e.g., monarch migration).
Work with campus faculty to prioritize research and student engagement on Monarch butterflies or the Northern long-eared bat (or other vulnerable or endangered pollinators) and pollinator issues. Check out the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service database to learn about threatened and endangered pollinator species in your community.
Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in campus landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed where appropriate. Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
Work with campus faculty and staff to ensure pollinator conservation is a long-term priority for the campus and included in the campus’s master plan, sustainability plan, climate resiliency plan or other campus plans.
Campuses are asked to share photos of their actions through the National Wildlife Federation's EcoLeaders Facebook page. There are two options to share:
Post photos on their college or university Facebook page and tag @NWFEcoLeaders.
Send photos to EcoLeaders@nwf.org and the NWF team will post on the EcoLeader Facebook page.
More Opportunities for Recognition
Student Opportunities to Gain Leadership Skills
- Apply for the NWF EcoLeader Pollinator Badge.
- Apply for the NWF EcoLeader Project and Personal Certifications; project-based leadership certifications that recognize project impact and personal leadership skills and help boost your resume and share with prospective employers.
College and University Opportunities
- All campuses are encouraged to use the EcoLeader project planning platform for their pollinator projects and apply for EcoLeader project certification.
- Certify your campus as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat® by providing food, water, cover, a place to raise young and implement sustainable practices to protect pollinators and other wildlife.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS – Anthropology graduate students Kelsey Nordine and BrieAnna Langlie examine Rocky Mountain beeweed, a native plant, in one of the campus's rooftop gardens. (Photo credit: James Byard, WUSTL Photos)
Current Pledges
Bellingham Technical College
Capital University, Ohio
Central College, Iowa
Centreville Elementary School, Virginia
College of the Atlantic, Maine
California State University East Bay
David Model Senior Secondary School
Discovery Elementary School, Virginia
Gannon University, Pennsylvania
Gateway Technical College, Wisconsin
Gillette College, Wyoming
Hubei University of Technology, China
Knox College, Illinois
Lake Superior College, Minnesota
Makerere University, Uganda
Nash Community College, North Carolina
Saint Joseph's College, Maine
Shri Mahavir Hindi High School Majri
St. Lawrence University, New York
St. Thomas University, Florida
State University of New York Genesco
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of California, Berkeley
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of New Haven, Connecticut
University of North Carolina Charlotte
University of North Carolina Greensboro Bee Campus Committee
University of South Dakota
University of Washington Bothell
Western Kentucky University
Wheeling Jesuit University, West Virginia
Xavier University of Louisiana
Community Engagement
- Participate in the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Join U.S. cities, municipalities, and other communities in their commitments to create habitat for the monarch butterfly and other pollinators, and to educate citizens about how they can make a difference at home and in their community.
- Partner with community garden groups and other community groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
- Partner with a local nursery to host a native plant sale or milkweed seed giveaway event.
- Work with county, city or state government to change landscape ordinances to support integrated pest management and reduced use of pesticides and insecticides.
- Work with county, city, or state government to increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs, and trees that must be used in community landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed where appropriate. Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
