Northern Michigan School Joins National Bee Program

A Michigan campus launches a new pollinator program to protect bees and wildlife while engaging students and the local community.

With the first signs of spring appearing across Michigan, it’s the perfect time to think about what you'll be planting in your garden this year. Wildlife conservationists, including myself, encourage everyone to keep pollinators in mind when planning their gardens.

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While bees are often the first to come to mind when we think of pollinators in Michigan, hummingbirds, moths, and even flies also play a crucial role in pollinating plants across the state. Even mammals like bats are important contributors to the pollination process.

One university in Michigan is taking action to support these pollinators by improving its campus landscape, creating a more pollinator-friendly environment. Here's how:

In a message shared February 11, 2026, Northern Michigan University announced the school had officially become an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and nonprofit whose mission is,

to galvanize communities and campuses to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants, and free of pesticides. Pollinators...are responsible for the reproduction of almost ninety percent of the world's flowering plant species and one in every three bites of food we consume.

A report by My UP Now says the school will make efforts to reduce pesticide use, plant more native flowers, and even create bee nesting sites including "overwintering hotels" to protect pollinators. Says Ashlyn Albert, Native Plant Intern of NMU's SHINE program,

Students come to NMU for the beautiful environment that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula provides. As students, we are proud to call NMU home, and I’m excited about joining the Bee Campus USA will give us resources that will continue to help us protect our native wildlife and foster a healthy environment for both pollinators and students.

This sounds very similar to the "birdscaping" trend that's currently sweeping across Michigan. Currently, other Bee Campus USA affiliates in Michigan include: