UT Dallas Plants Seeds for Pollinator Health

December 17, 2021

By Yen Pham, Eco Rep

 

Wildflowers not only help to beautify landscapes, but also support local pollinators in their search for food. Native pollinators like monarch butterflies and honeybees are important to the multiplication of flowering plants on our campus. As part of the migratory path of the Monarch butterfly, UT Dallas is a champion for pollinator health through initiative Monarch Waystation along with others like Butterfly Flutterby, honey harvesting events, and community wildflower plantings. The Monarch Waystation is an eight-acre area lying along Texas’ Blackland Prairie, located southwest of UTD campus. With UT Dallas located within the migratory path of the Monarch butterfly, to encourage species recovery, we have planted native milkweed around the waystation as a breeding ground and to help pollinators find food as they travel along their route.

Another initiative that our office has collaborated with to help support local pollinators is Operation Bloom Town, a community program started by The City of Richardson. Operation Bloom Town is dedicated to helping businesses, non-profit organizations, and residents within the community plant wildflowers throughout the local Richardson landscape. UT Dallas Grounds Department has partnered with the City of Richardson on this initiative to plant 50lbs of bluebonnet seeds along with a wildflower mix on campus in the month of December for a spring and summer bloom at a site located at the corner of Synergy Park Boulevard and Waterview. Other areas will be seeded by only the UTD Grounds Department and include a field area near JSOM.

When wildflower seeds drop from the existing wildflower seed plantings, the areas will be mowed low to the ground. The seeds will then be spread and watered in. Through this City of Richardson and UT Dallas partnership, we hope to enhance campus beauty and diversify our current wildflower profile here on campus.

 

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