Bee Campus OSU
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Date
2019-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ohio State University. Office of Outreach and Engagement
Abstract
The decline in the pollinator population around the globe is a threat to humans and the environment alike. Pollinators play the important role of fertilizing plants, increasing biodiversity, and contributing to our food supply. Loss of habitat, pesticide use, and disease are some of the main threats pollinators are facing. As students at Ohio State, we believe our large campus and student body has the capacity to make a difference for pollinators by becoming a part of the Bee Campus USA program. This program aims to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and what students can do to protect them and their habitats. By promoting pollinators, we are protecting our food supply and the environment, and creating an example for other institutions.
Description
The decline in the pollinator population around the globe is a threat to humans and the environment alike. Pollinators play the important role of fertilizing plants, increasing biodiversity and contributing to our food supply. Loss of habitat, pesticide use, and disease are some of the main threats that pollinators are facing. As students at Ohio State, we believe our large campus and student body has the capacity to make a difference for pollinators by becoming a part of the Bee Campus USA program. This program aims to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and what students can do to protect them and their habitats. By promoting pollinators, we are protecting our food supply, the environment, and are creating an example for other institutions similar to our own. Becoming a Bee Campus involves having awareness events on campus, offering pollinator workshops, and upkeeping a webpage with Bee Campus updates. Many of these activities will require certain funds to be successful. College students incur many expenses and fees that are unavoidable. Included in Ohio State's tuition are significant student fees for different events, opportunities, and services. The purpose of our project is to determine how willing the students of Ohio State are to put some of their student fees toward Ohio State becoming an official Bee Campus. We will determine this by conducting a survey with the goal of reaching a large sample size of students who represent the different colleges within Ohio State. Our team includes a group of students enrolled in an Ohio State multidisciplinary course currently taking place in autumn 2018. The course has two experienced professors as co-instructors. They both have extensive experience in sustainability research and project management, particularly on pollinator research, which will ensure the success of this project. The entire team has been CITI certified. A draft survey has been created and is in the process of IRB approval. The final survey will involve extensive focus group testing to fine-tune the questions. Once the survey is created and approved, it will be accessible through a QR code generated by Qualtrics (a mainstream survey portal) and can be taken quickly by students passing by. To eliminate bias, we will be surveying in areas on campus where a diverse sample of students will be, such as dining halls and recreation centers. After compiling survey data, our group will have an understanding of the level of support that students have toward becoming a Bee Campus. The audience to our research can be anyone who are interested in sustainability initiative development on a campus setting.
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Delia Randolph, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources, randolph.176@osu.edu (Corresponding Author); Maggie Long, project manager, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources; Jacob Miller, survey design and student engagement, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources; Meggie Nafziger, Survey Design and Data Analysis, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources; Myra Moss, project supervisor and co-author, OSU Extension; Wuyang Hu, project supervisor and co-author, Ohio State Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Delia Randolph, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources, randolph.176@osu.edu (Corresponding Author); Maggie Long, project manager, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources; Jacob Miller, survey design and student engagement, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources; Meggie Nafziger, Survey Design and Data Analysis, undergraduate student, Ohio State School of Environment and Natural Resources; Myra Moss, project supervisor and co-author, OSU Extension; Wuyang Hu, project supervisor and co-author, Ohio State Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
Keywords
bee campus, student fee, survey
Citation
Engaged Scholars, v. 7 (2019).