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

• 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)