Did you know that one out of every three bites of food that you eat comes from a pollinator?

Odum School of Ecology student and UGA Office of Sustainability Campus Pollinator Intern Paige Robinson is on a mission to enhance our food and ecological systems… one pollinator at a time.

Through supporting the Campus Pollinator Project, Paige is driving positive change and building connections within the community. To aid landscape management decisions that better support the bee community, Paige led the 2024 UGA pollinator census, a citizen science project aimed at collecting data on pollinator abundance and diversity across campus. They are currently working on UGA’s 2024 Bee Campus USA annual report on pollinator-related classes, activities and projects across UGA to help maintain UGA’s Bee Campus certification through the Xerces Society.

As Paige puts it, “I’m proud of the end result because it highlights the huge variety of pollinator-related work around campus, and I want more people to see what our community is doing for pollinator conservation.”

Planning for the future, Paige is also helping to support an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and Sustainability Certificate students who are envisioning a pollinator meadow at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine, which will support Dr. Joerg Mayer’s innovative bee vet program and provide suitable habitat for feeding, nesting and reproduction of pollinators.

Paige Robinson is a part of a larger community of passionate and dedicated student interns who work hard to make UGA an increasingly sustainable and equitable campus for all.

This story originally appeared in the Office of Sustainability’s 10/21/24 newsletter; reposted with permission.