Campus Pollinators

The Pollinator Pocket project

Pollination is a key process in human managed and natural terrestrial ecosystems. Without this, many ecosystems and our own agricultural systems would collapse, even in the city. Setting aside wild zones and wildflower patches is one way we can conserve and support the existing pollinator population in the Loyola Heights campus.

The Ateneo Institute of Sustainability, in partnership with The Ateneo Wild, is working to protect patches of wildflowers throughout the Loyola Heights campus through Pollinator Pockets! These Pockets are designated wild zones that will be protected from the regular grass cutting maintenance.

The Ateneo Wild Project has documented several different species of bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, wasps, and other insects regularly visiting patches that have grown during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, indicating the importance of allowing wildflowers to grow. Setting aside patches of wildflowers is an increasingly common practice already being done in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and in major cities of Germany.

Wildflower patches that have grown on campus during the lockdowns have been delineated as Pollinator Pockets and protected from being cut. With the eventual return of face-to-face classes, these pockets will serve as places of nature education, further highlighting how urban biodiversity is an important aspect of campus sustainability.