Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee
In an effort to further the goals of the Pitt Sustainability Plan, the University has created a diverse and interdisciplinary Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee to help make our campus environment more supportive of healthy, native pollinator populations.
A subcommittee of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability, the University of Pittsburgh’s Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee’s goals are to:
- Create and advise on the implementation a Campus Pollinator Habitat Plan, which sets guidelines for plant choices and landscaping practices.
- Lead the University’s annual Bee Campus USA application through the Xerces Society.
Committee Members
- CO-CHAIR: Samantha Chan, Assistant Director of Sustainability, Office of Sustainability
- CO-CHAIR: Meghan Orman, Doctoral Student, School of Education + Office of Child Development
- Dr. Tia-Lynn Ashman, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
- Rachel Bowers, Planner; Planning, Design, & Construction
- Jonathan Burgess, Director, Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory
- Allyson Frantz, Undergraduate & Founder, Relearn Our Land Initiative
- Patty Himelright, Assistant Manager of Grounds, Facilities Management
- Greg Null, Assistant Director for Assessment & Accreditation, Office of Medical Education, School of Medicine
- Zack Wolynn, Pitt Conservation Club, Undergraduate Environmental & Urban Studies, May 2026
Read more about Pitt’s efforts related to pollinators. including our on-campus bee houses.
Interested in research on bees? Check out these:
- Economic Dependence and Vulnerability of United States Agricultural Sector on Insect-Mediated Pollination Service (Jordan et al. 2021)
- The best wildflowers for wild bees (Nichols et al. 2019)
- Considering the unintentional consequences of pollinator gardens for urban native plants: is the road to extinction paved with good intentions? (Johnson et al. 2017)