Relearn Our Land Pollinator Garden

Designed and planted by students in Spring 2022, the “Relearn Our Land” Pollinator Garden honors Aborigine American, Indigenous and Native cultural groups, peoples by showcasing plants that hold cultural significance for their medicinal or decorative properties.  The garden also features pollinators that will contribute to biodiversity conservation efforts.

The group formed to acknowledge these injustices and develop a platform to consciously uplift the Indigenous communities of the Northeast region, including the Delaware, Shawnee, Iroquoian, Hopewell, Adena, and Monongahela peoples.  Together with allies and partners, the “Relearn our Land” effort engaged with Aboriginal, Indigenous, and native members throughout the Northeast region, while also connecting with local agricultural networks (e.g., Phipps Conservatory) to establish a framework for Pennsylvania ethnobotany as a means of furthering their environmental education goals.

Located on the South patio of Posvar Hall, the Relearn Our Land Pollinator Garden was created as an educational garden space on campus accessible to all that honors Native peoples commitment to natural resources and acknowledge the threats they face today as environmental defenders.

The Relearn Our Land Pollinator Garden undergraduate student design team (from GEOL 1333:Sustainability course taught by Ward Allebach) included:

• Allyson Frantz, Environmental Studies, Class of 2024
• Meghan Hammer, Environmental Studies, Class of 2023
• Juliana Hunt, Environmental Studies, Class of 2024