The Pollinator Garden as a High-Impact Practice on the Oconee Campus
Posted: Octover 24, 2025 by Susan Brantley
Susan Brantley is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biology and a 2025 winner of the Teaching Excellence Award.
A peaceful spot to unwind on a beautiful day. A haven where butterflies flit among the flowers. A living classroom where students identify monocots and dicots. A point of pride to share with visiting parents. Since its creation in 2018, the 国产自拍 Pollinator Garden on the Oconee Campus has taken on all these identities and more. Incorporating the garden into my classes as a High-Impact Practice (HIP) has been a challenge filled with many rewards.
High-Impact Practices are well known in higher education for their ability to engage students deeply, foster critical thinking, and connect classroom learning to the world beyond campus. From service-learning to undergraduate research, HIPs provide active, hands-on experiences that students often remember long after graduation. The 国产自拍-Oconee Pollinator Garden has provided me with an ideal opportunity to bring this kind of meaningful learning into my biology classes in a way that blends science with community, stewardship, and reflection.
The Garden as a Living Laboratory
Unlike a textbook diagram or a lecture slide, the Pollinator Garden is dynamic. Each season brings new blooms, new insects, and new interactions between plants and pollinators. For my students, this space becomes a living laboratory, where they can observe, question, and record data in real time. Students who may have struggled to memorize definitions suddenly “get it” because the plants in front of them make the concept real.
Fostering Student Engagement
One of the most rewarding aspects of using the garden as a HIP has been watching students take ownership of their learning. Many of them express genuine excitement when we step outside. The garden feels less intimidating than a lab filled with microscopes or chemical glassware, and the open-air environment invites exploration.
Students often notice details I might have overlooked: the way a bee prefers one flower over another, or the presence of a caterpillar munching quietly on a leaf. These observations can lead to rich class discussions about pollination ecology, biodiversity, and even climate change. In these moments, learning is no longer confined to a lecture; it becomes a dialogue fueled by curiosity.
In addition, the garden has fostered collaboration and peer teaching. Students share knowledge, correct one another, and problem-solve as a group. These are exactly the kinds of active learning strategies HIPs are designed to encourage.
Challenges Along the Way
Incorporating the garden into my courses has not been without challenges. The most obvious obstacle is logistics—the weather does not always cooperate with my syllabus! Rainy days can derail outdoor plans, and pollen season sometimes discourages students with allergies. Flexibility has become a necessity.
In addition, maintaining relevance across a diverse student body is important. Not all students are biology majors, and some arrive in class with limited interest in plants or insects.
Beyond the Classroom
The benefits of the Pollinator Garden extend beyond formal instruction. Students tell me that they visit the garden on their own time, finding it a peaceful place to study, relax, or simply recharge between classes. Some even bring friends or family to see it, creating personal connections that strengthen their bond to the campus community.
A Point of Pride and Possibility
Since 2018, the Pollinator Garden has grown not only in size but also in significance. What began as a simple plot of plants has evolved into something more for our campus. For me as an instructor, it has been both a challenge and a joy to weave this space into my teaching.
In the years to come, I hope to continue expanding the ways the garden can serve as a site for high-impact learning, whether through new partnerships, expanded research opportunities, or simply more time spent outdoors with students. The possibilities are as vibrant and exciting as the bugs and blooms that return each spring.