By Abbie Nistler

Project Green Infrastructure Pollinator Garden, was the result of a collaboration between Professors Sarah Hinners and Amy Sibul as well as the then student leader of the University Beekeeping Association, Mason Kreidler to prevent flooding in the Architecture Building through the use of green infrastructure while creating a pollinator friendly landscape. 

When the Architecture Building at the University of Utah began having flooding problems, faculty, staff and students saw an opportunity to update the grounds using green infrastructure to solve the problem. The building’s basement regularly had puddles of water in it, especially after a significant amount of rainfall. Students proposed a pollinator garden that redirected run-off water away from the architecture building. The pollinator garden, which included absorbent native vegetation, replaced the turf grass between the Architecture Building, School of Business and University Museum of Fine Arts.

The garden reduced irrigation requirements, created an enjoyable space on campus and increased campus’ biodiversity.  With over 80% of flowering plants requiring a pollinator and a third of all food consumed needing pollinators to produce a crop, bees, butterflies, birds and other insects and critters are extremely important for humans to survive. Due to this new garden’s new array of native plants and flowering vegetation, the U now has more space on campus for pollinators to thrive. The project allowed students and professors to see a problem on campus and come up with solutions together. It promoted green infrastructure and integrated more beneficial vegetation on campus.

Kreidler perfectly summarized the importance of this project, “This is a paradigmatic example of how SCIF can help make campus better in cooperation with facilities. The original plan was to stop the flooding, but now the space has become a unique feature to campus.”