Fruits and vegetables are staples of a healthy, balanced diet. Pollinators, such as insects and birds, play a key role in the reproduction of plants that produce these types of food.
Why It’s Newsworthy: However, pollinators are at risk due to habitat loss, climate change and pesticide exposure.
University of Georgia students Sam Dilley and Ryan Donovan are committed to protecting pollinators and their habitats. With the money they received from a 2025 UGA Sustainability Grant, Dilley and Donovan are building a pollinator garden at the Alpha Kappa Psi house, located on Milledge Avenue in Athens.
Dilley and Donovan set out to be one of the first Greek houses on Milledge to implement a pollinator garden.
“We knew none of the other fraternities and sororities had done it,” Dilley said. “Once we were able to realize that we could get funding for it and make it happen, that’s kind of where it took off.”
Dilley and Donovan worked with other Alpha Kappa Psi brothers to accomplish their planting day. Long-term maintenance of the garden may become a challenge, but they hope that by educating others in the fraternity, they are preserving the garden for years to come.
Samantha Lichter is a junior majoring in journalism at the University of Georgia.
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