Georgia Southern is proud to carry forward East Georgia’s long-standing commitment to protecting pollinators and supporting a healthier environment for our region. East Georgia was originally designated a Bee Campus USA institution on September 20, 2016, becoming the 14th campus in the nation to earn this distinction.
Bee Campus USA, founded by beekeepers in Asheville, North Carolina, empowers communities to take action that supports bees, butterflies, and other essential pollinators. The program expanded in 2015 when Southern Oregon University launched the Bee Campus initiative for colleges and universities—mobilizing students, faculty, and staff to create meaningful local impact.
As part of Eagle Nation, we continue this mission by educating our community, expanding pollinator-friendly spaces, and promoting sustainable practices across campus.
24/7 Bee Cam
Get Involved
Interested in learning more about pollinators—or helping support the beehives on the East Georgia campus? We welcome all Eagles who want to make a positive environmental impact.
Looking for pollinator-safe ways to manage pests? Download the EPA Pest Patrol Guide for sustainable, pollinator-friendly strategies.
Bee Campus Reports
Explore our annual Bee Campus USA reports to see how the East Georgia campus continues to support pollinator health, expand habitat, and advance Georgia Southern’s sustainability efforts year after year.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
A comprehensive, environmentally responsible approach to managing pests on the EGA campus. IPM focuses on monitoring, prevention, and using the least harmful control methods to protect both people and pollinators.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) refers to the control of undesirable insect, animal, and plant pests using methods that are as environmentally-friendly and pollinator-friendly as possible. IPM plans are tailored to different locations and situations, but all IPM plans follow four basic principles:
- Identify and monitor pests to best determine the methods needed to control them in a way that minimizes the use of pesticides. In many situations, pesticide use may not be necessary to control a given insect, animal, or plant pest. Specifically identifying particular pests also helps to target these pests without harming beneficial organisms.
- Set action thresholds to better determine the level of intervention needed to control pests. For example, an action threshold may be to determine whether the pests a nuisance, a health hazard, or an economic threat. Setting a threshold helps to determine the type and intensity of treatment needed to control a pest, and to minimize any adverse environmental impact resulting from treatments.
- Prevention involves taking common sense steps to reduce/remove conditions that attract pests. For example, the first line of defense against unwanted rodents may be to clean up and remove garbage and trash that attracts them to an area. Mosquito control can start by removing sources of standing water that the insects use to breed in. Caulking cracks in foundations can help to deter ants and other insects from entering structures. Mulching and controlled burning help with unwanted weed growth. All of these methods help to avoid the use of pesticides that may be environmentally harmful.
- Control of a pest is needed if the action threshold for a given pest is exceeded. Control should always start with the least toxic intervention possible, followed by successively stronger methods if needed. For example, possible approaches to consider may include:
- Trapping – many pests may be removed from a location by trapping and relocating the pest or disposing of the pest by non-toxic means.
- Heat/Cold Treatments – depending on the situation and the resources available, some pests, such as bedbugs, may be removed by heat treatment or freezing.
Additional Resources
Resources to help create a pollinator-friendly garden:
- Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resources – Southeast Region
- Xerces Society Pollinator Plant Lists – Southeast Region (scroll to heading)
- Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants
- Pollination: Plants for Year-Round Bee Forage (University of Georgia)
- Pollinator Partnership: Selecting Plants for Pollinators – Ecoregional Planting Guides
Pollinator-friendly trees and shrubs:
- UGA Extension List of Native Plants for Georgia Part I – Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines
- Arbor Day Foundation – Trees for Bees and Other Pollinators
- Carolina Honeybees – Favorable Flowering Trees for Bees
- USDA National Agroforestry Center – Working Trees for Bees (PDF)
- UGA Extension – Selecting Trees and Shrubs as Resources for Pollinators (PDF)