Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Sustainable Pollinator Gardens for Habitat and Education
EPA Grant Number: SU836774Title: Sustainable Pollinator Gardens for Habitat and Education
Investigators: Sheardy, Richard , Maier, Camelia , Maguire, Cynthia , Robb, Jeff
Institution: Texas Woman's University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2016) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
The primary goal of this project is educating our students and citizenry about sustainability issues, thus helping them to become active citizens in finding solutions to current environmental issues, particularly regarding water and pollinator conservation. One of the impediments to moving toward a more sustainable planet is the lack of engagement by ordinary citizens because they (1) do not know about environmental issues; (2) know and care about the issues, but do not know what sustainable actions to take; or (3) know about the issues and simply do not care. One simple action that caring people can do is to plant sustainable landscapes using native plants. These gardens will create habitats for insects and birds and be places of beauty. More importantly, these gardens require little or no maintenance, thus contributing to water conservation and reduced pollution from pesticides and fertilizers. This project aims to create sustainable pollinator gardens on the Texas Woman’s University (TWU) Denton campus that can serve as observatories and laboratories as well as beautiful habitats. Because North Texas is in the narrow portion of the monarch butterfly migration flyway, we have a unique opportunity to contribute to enhancing the monarch butterfly population by creating way stop stations. Through our educational programs at TWU, we will directly involve students from many disciplines in planting, maintenance, research and educational outreach. In addition, these gardens will serve as models for others who wish to create sustainable spaces on their campuses, in their town squares or in their own backyards.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Although the official notification of the People, Prosperity, and the Planet grant was received in February 2017, the work on the project started in fall 2016 using TWU Foundation Funds and other donations. The Phase I project focused on the initiation of a pollinator garden around the Ann Stuart Science Complex (ASSC) on the TWU Denton campus. Phase II funding will be used for developing a larger garden on the north end of campus for research, education and outreach activities for sustainability.
Faculty and student leaders had frequent meetings to plan workdays, coordinate volunteer recruitment and discuss garden issues. Student leaders Caitlyn Floyd, Helen Derbew and Chelsea Matewe were instrumental in coordinating volunteer workdays, finding plants at the local nurseries specializing on native plants and transporting mulch from the City of Denton to the garden. Volunteers primarily consisted of TWU students enrolled in the faculty leaders’ classes, mainly Plant Biology, Ecology, Environmental Biology and Chemistry courses. Ten student organization pledges were obtained, and some of the students in those organizations participated in workdays. One group of Honors students and their instructor also were among the volunteers in fall 2016.
Initial preparation of garden beds in the ASSC gardens consisted of removal of the lawn grasses and a crepe myrtle shrub, installation of crushed granite pathways among beds, and a portion of the drip irrigation installation, all work carried out by private contractors. In addition, some beds were tilled to further break up the roots of turf grasses. One of two methods then was used for weed control. Landscaping cloth was used to cover some plots in order to kill the remaining grasses and weeds. In other plots, 20 percent vinegar solution with orange oil was applied prior to a layer of cardboard. Once the landscaping cloth or cardboard was properly laid down, 3 inches of mulch was added to the plots. Dyno Lite, Dyno Soil and Dyno Landscape Mulch were used for the garden plots. The mulch was a grade-A sustainable product from the City of Denton’s Beneficial Reuse Division of the Water Utilities Department. Dyno Dirt is a nutrient-rich compost mainly made of collected yard trimmings and recycled biosolids. It contains a remarkable abundance of beneficial microorganisms. The Dyno Landscape Mulch is composted mulch made of 80 percent wood chips and 20 percent Dyno Dirt. Dyno Double Grind is mulch made only from recycled brush. Dyno Soil is a blend of 60 percent Dyno Dirt and 40 percent sandy soil. This work was carried out by students on four fall garden workdays, and four spring workdays with mentoring assistance from the local Master Gardeners.
Plantings started between October 8 and November 15, 2016, and continued in spring 2017. On March 31, 2017, the first milkweed way station for monarch butterflies was completed and the second one was completed on April 13, 2017. Although the garden is new and we are still planting, it already has been used as an academic teaching and research venue, as well as a sustainability education tool for the TWU and Denton area communities. Research on the plant-pollinator interactions started in fall 2017. Students observed monarch and other butterflies and insect pollinators feeding on flower nectar in the fall and the first monarch caterpillars on milkweed plants in the spring. The first database of plants and pollinators, based on the observations of insect visitors to the current garden plants and database searches for pollinators of plants to be planted, was initiated by co-PI Maier with Plant Biology and Ecology course projects in spring 2017. The database will be updated, as more plants will be used to populate the gardens.
We also are working on installing a rain water collection system and have secured Texas Higher Education funding (HEF) for this project. We already have initiated and are maintaining relationships and collaborations with community partners as a way of sharing information and sustainability education. Notably, a relationship with the Denton Parks and Recreation Department for a collaborative project was established in fall 2016. Representatives of the Trinity Forks Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas and Master Gardeners have served as mentors to our students during garden workdays. Co-PIs Robb and Maier, several TWU students, a fraternity and one other faculty member worked with the Wheeler House, a shelter for women and their children, to help build their butterfly garden. The Wheeler House is a project of Serve Denton, a local nonprofit organization. Private individuals visiting the TWU garden also have expressed a desire to help and learn.
Conclusions:
In the short period of time working on the Phase I project, we are very pleased with the outcomes. We have recruited students (individuals and student organizations), faculty, staff and community partners to become involved in the project at different levels and increase their skills in becoming stewards of sustainability practices. The workdays in the garden provided sustainability education to diverse courses, from an Honors class to Quality Enhancement Plan and “Pioneering Pathways: Learn by Doing” courses in Plant Biology, Ecology, Environmental Chemistry and Community Conversations in Sustainability. Dissemination of results and sustainability practices in restoring habitats for pollinators started with successful activities and contributed to recruiting new partners from the local Native Plant Society chapter to the City of Denton. We are encouraged that we have met the short-term and even some medium-term outcomes, and we will continue building on them during Phase II activities.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Pollinators, sustainability, sustainable pollinator gardens, sustainable landscaping, water conservation, water pollution, sustainable water management, water conservation educationRelevant Websites:
http://www.twu.edu/butterfly-garden
P3 Phase II:
Developing Sustainable Pollinator Gardens for Habitat, Water Conservation, and Education | 2018 Progress Report | 2019 Progress Report | 2020 Progress Report | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.