Posted on May 20, 2025 | Blog,News
Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliates Celebrate Bees on World Bee Day and Year-Round
Pollinator plants at Nicholls State
World Bee Day is on May 20, and in celebration, Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) is highlighting the efforts of three KLB University Affiliates doing their part to protect bees and other pollinators: Nicholls State University, University of New Orleans, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
“These KLB University Affiliates understand that bees are integral to the health of our ecosystems and contribute significantly to the world’s food production,” said Cabell Mouton, KLB Community Engagement and Affiliate Services Director. “These pollinators may be tiny, but they are mighty, and we depend on them more than we know.”
Nicholls State University in Thibodaux worked with Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary to add native plants and pollinator gardens on campus and at the Nicholls Farm. In April 2025, an additional one-acre plot at the farm was seeded with native wildflowers and grasses. On campus, you will find Gulf Muhly, Gulf Cordgrass, Saltmarsh Mallow, and Wolly Rose-mallow.
Louisiana Certified Habitat at UNO
The University of New Orleans has pollinator gardens on campus and three Louisiana Certified Habitats, meaning the properties conserve Louisiana’s native plants, animals, lands, and waters. These habitats were certified by the Louisiana Native Plant Society. The UNO campus is also home to Privateer Pocket Parks, small gardens or landscaped areas on campus adopted by volunteers to improve them with the addition of rain gardens and native plants.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been a Bee Campus USA university since 2022. The university is committed to conserving native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, and they’ve integrated pest management plan to protect their 17 pollinator habitats. In 2024, UL Lafayette hosted eight pollinator outreach events and planted 447 pollinator plants and trees on campus.
Pollinator Garden at UL Lafayette
According to the United Nations, nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land.
All college campuses can do their part to protect bees and other pollinators by:
- Incorporating native plants
- Reducing the use of pesticides
- Offering education on campus about pollinator conservation
- Displaying signage focused on pollinator conservation
Nicholls State University, the University of New Orleans, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette are all part of the KLB University Affiliate program, engaging college students in environmental stewardship and sustainability practices. The KLB University Affiliate network is the largest and most successful program of its kind in the U.S. with 13 Affiliates.
KLB University Affiliates include Dillard University, Grambling State University, Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Tulane University, University of Louisiana Monroe, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
