February 11, 2026
Northern Michigan University has become an
affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, designed to marshal the strengths of educational
campuses for the benefit of pollinators. Northern Michigan University joins many other cities and
campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.
“Our students, faculty, administrators, and staff have long been the most stalwart
champions for sustainable environmental practices,” said Jes Thompson, Assistant Vice
President for Sustainability and director of the Sustainability Hub for Innovation and the
Environment (SHINE). “This provides dozens of opportunities for student research and service-
learning. Already, faculty, staff, and students have worked together to study and create pollinator
habitats with native plants. After our recent audit of course offerings, we know that dozens of
NMU faculty include discussions about pollinators and ecosystem health, and diversity in their
syllabi.”
” Students come to NMU for the beautiful environment that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
provides. As students, we are proud to call NMU home, and I’m excited about joining the Bee Campus
USA will give us resources that will continue to help us protect our native wildlife and foster a
healthy environment for both pollinators and students,” said Ashlyn Albert, Native Plant Intern of
SHINE. SHINE takes pride in NMU’s commitment to minimizing hazards to pollinators by using
nearly no neonicotinoids or other potentially dangerous pesticides. To raise awareness about
the plight of pollinators, SHINE will soon publish a webpage to disseminate information to the
campus and external communities, including NMU’s Landscape Maintenance Plan, a list of
native plants incorporated into the campus landscape, including their bloom time and habitat
needs, links to student and faculty research into pollinator issues, and information about
upcoming events.
Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices across the
country. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities and campuses to sustain
pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants, and free of
pesticides. Pollinators like bumble bees, sweat bees, mason bees, honey bees, butterflies,
moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and many others are responsible for the reproduction of
almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food
we consume.
“The program aspires to make people more PC—pollinator conscious, that is,” said Scott
Hoffman Black, Xerces’ executive director. “If lots of individuals and communities begin planting
native, pesticide-free flowering trees, shrubs, and perennials, it will help to sustain many, many
species of pollinators.”
According to Bee Campus USA coordinator Laura Rost, “How each city or campus
completes the steps to conserve pollinators is up to them,” said Rost. “Affiliates play to their own
strengths, designing pesticide reduction plans, improving habitat, and holding events ranging
from garden tours to native plant giveaways to bee trivia nights. Each campus must renew its
affiliation each year and report on accomplishments from the previous year. Other institutions of
higher education are invited to explore completing the application process outlined at
beecityusa.org.”
For more information about Northern Michigan University’s Bee Campus USA program,
Contact Ashlyn Albert at aalbert@nmu.edu or Jes Thompson at jessitho@nmu.edu.
