During the blooming season, native garden spaces along the perimeter of campus are teeming with life: bees buzzing around and wriggling into flowers, birds eating seed pods, and butterflies gently perching on flowers as they flutter their wings with the contentment of a tasty floral meal. While native garden spaces typically require less maintenance in the long run, establishing these spaces requires consistent care for the first few years to ensure success. John Zimmerman is one of the Landscape Services team members at the forefront of caring for these campus ecosystems.
John has served the University in Landscape Services for 14 years and is a passionate advocate for native gardens, sharing that “In [Landscape Services], management is always open to new ideas, so I wanted to make a difference. Several years ago, I proposed starting a few native pollinator areas.” Fast-forward to today, and Landscape Services currently cares for ten native areas and two monarch waystations. Notable gardens include the surrounding landscape of the Compton Ice Arena and the Sculpture Park. Once the new solar array just north of WNDU studios is complete, native species will be replanted to become a pollinator-friendly solar installation. Native plants are generally more resistant to pests and climate conditions, resulting in less fertilizer and pesticide usage as well as lower emissions associated with landscaping care. Due to their deeper root systems, they can also serve as carbon sinks. Beyond their numerous environmental benefits, they bring delightful views of successional blooming colors all spring and summer, from delicate purple bergamot to showy red cardinal flowers. “One of my favorite aspects is once the plants start to bloom, the colors change as the season moves along,” John shares.
Last October, John supported a volunteer event alongside Notre Dame’s native restoration partner, Stantec, during St. Francis Week to sow hundreds of additional plants to further build the Sculpture Garden and the newly established monarch waystation near Landscape Services, which is dedicated to John’s late wife, Sharron. No matter their size, pollinator spaces make a collective difference for local ecology, and the 21+ acres of these spaces support our local agriculture, too. John feels that anyone can participate in supporting native garden spaces, stating, “With the loss of habitat, our pollinator bee and butterfly populations have been greatly decimated… Everyone can make a difference by having a few pollinator plants in their own yard or even planting a butterfly bush.”
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