---
title: UMD’s Stumble Bees
date: 2023-09-14T09:25:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/umds-stumble-bees"
section: Articles
---
# UMD’s Stumble Bees

*September 14, 2023* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/authors/sala-levin-10)


- *Illustration by Valerie Morgan*
- *Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle*

> Gardens Host Pollen-Fueled Rager, Earning National Recognition

*bee*

To be a bee on the University of Maryland campus is to feast at a pollinator’s bacchanal. They—along with butterflies, birds and beetles—chug from nectar- and pollen-rich native plants in a growing number of sites. The sobering fact, though, is that while disguised as mere landscaping, the gardens provide habitats essential to plant reproduction and healthy ecosystems, even as a toxic brew of environmental and human factors threatens pollinator populations locally and worldwide.

UMD’s years of efforts to cultivate a pollinator-friendly environment were recognized this spring by the Xerces Society with certification as a [Bee Campus USA](https://beecityusa.org/bee-campus-usa-commitments/). It joins 163 other higher education institutions committed to growing native flowering species, providing nest sites and reducing pesticide use.

Here, UMD horticulturist Michael Ellis shows Terp some of the places a bee or bird might take a few heady sips.


*plants outside Annapolis Hall*


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*bees fly near habitat wall*


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*bee habitat wall*


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*bee flies near flower*


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*bee on flower*




**Issue:** [Fall 2023](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/fall-2023)


**Types:** [Campus Life](https://terp.umd.edu/category/campus-life)