This summer, I have had the wonderful opportunity to intern for Bee Friendly Williamstown, but unfortunately, my tenure as an intern has come to a close. As part of the internship, I participated in planning events, working in the pollinator demonstration garden at The Spruces, and learned a great deal about how best to protect vulnerable pollinator species. In addition to my work directly for Bee Friendly Williamstown, I was given the opportunity to work on an independent project. I took on the rather large project of certifying the Williams College campus as a Bee-Friendly campus through the Xerces Society, a certification obtained by only 123 colleges and universities so far.
         Last year, the College released a strategic plan for sustainability, included in which was a section on sustainable landscaping. With this strategic plan being so fresh, I thought it would be the perfect time to propose implementing some changes to how the College operates regarding landscaping. Currently, there are a handful of no-mow pollinator-friendly spaces on campus– the Spencer Art Meadow, the Zilkha Center meadow and orchard, and the no-mow area on Mission Hill. However, there are improvements that could be made. In discussing this certification with professors Joan Edwards and Hank Art, they described several low-use spots that could be left to bloom and feed pollinators such as the center parking lot strips, or unused pockets of land that are difficult to bring lawn mowers into. Research done by Joan Edwards has shown that each new addition of a flowering spot near an existing one can drastically increase the diversity of pollinators, even on the same flower species, so ceasing to mow even small areas can have a great impact.
          I have talked to many people this summer to figure out what needs to be done to implement more pollinator protections on Campus, and there is no simple answer. However, I am excited to see this project develop as I bring it with me into the academic year and include many more people. As many of you reading this may know, the switch from manicured lawns to a meadow or pollinator garden can meet a lot of resistance, but I believe it’s time to push past that resistance and learn a new way of maintaining the natural beauty so abundant here in Williamstown.

-Lydia von Schwanenfluegel