Date of Project
4-21-2023
Document Type
Honors Thesis
School Name
School of Environmental Studies
Department
Environmental Science
Major Advisor
Dr. Kate Bulinski
Second Advisor
Dr. Michele Abee
Abstract
Animal pollinators are the cornerstone of healthy ecosystems. Their survival is essential for the persistence of entire food chains: from the flowers they cross-pollinate directly, to the animals who depend on those plants for nutrition. The establishment of pollinator gardens—particularly ones that consist of native plants—is an effective way to enhance their biodiversity, abundance, and well-being.
The main goal of this thesis is to construct a pollinator garden that maximizes the benefits for animal pollinators using feedback from local gardeners. A survey was used to gather information about the popularity and preferences of 40 flowering plants, and after analyzing the 101 responses, 12 species were chosen along with 2 native grasses. The garden was constructed on Bellarmine University’s campus (October 2022) and is in bloom as of spring 2023.
Recommended Citation
Moran, Kate, "The Bellarmine Bee Bed: Organizing a Native Plant Garden Using Feedback from the Local Community" (2023). Undergraduate Theses. 108.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/108
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Biology Commons, Biometry Commons, Botany Commons, Data Science Commons, Entomology Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Other Earth Sciences Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Systems Biology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Weed Science Commons