Written by: Sharla Horton April 22, 2025 Flowers planted by UAH Department of Biological Sciences Department at the UAH Green Club As spring brings new life, the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), along with the UAH Green Club, are taking on their annual Earth Day outreach efforts. Today, students, faculty, and volunteers joined together to plant native wildflowers throughout the city, creating much-needed pollinator habitats. “Pollination is essential. Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth’s terrestrial ecosystems would not survive. Pollinators have an enormous impact on agriculture and the food we eat,” says Lara Rae Holladay, Biological Sciences Program Coordinator. “Each year we encourage and educate others about the importance of pollinators and share how they can help. Pollinators make use of food and habitat anywhere it is found… whether it is a home garden, a roadside, a schoolyard garden or a planter on a windowsill.” Native pollinators are best supported by native wildflowers, which are an ideal choice due to their rich nectar and pollen, low maintenance needs, natural resistance to pests, drought tolerance, and their ability to help control erosion. Holladay explains that biodiversity is the key to providing adequate food for pollination. “Make sure you have at least 3 different species throughout spring, summer and fall.”To celebrate Earth Day 2025, the Department of Biological Sciences and the UAH Green Club hosted a miniature terrarium workshop where participants could create their own tiny, self-sustaining ecosystem. The workshop was a hit, drawing attendees from all over campus who left not just with their own little green world, but also with a deeper appreciation for Earth’s interconnected systems. One of the ongoing efforts is the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Project. In 2024, the department helped establish multiple monarch habitats throughout the city, responding to the alarming habitat loss caused by urbanization and industrial agriculture. Holladay's goal again this year is to educate and help create as many habitats as possible through outreach efforts. “Each year these less than a half-a-gram winged insects travel almost 3000 miles to reach their overwintering sites in the mountain forests of Michoancan at the State of Mexico,” she says. “Monarchs serve as an indicator species, signaling a healthy ecosystem with sufficient milkweed and nectar sources.” Earth Day is only a small snippet of the outreach done by the department, along with the UAH Green Club. Through the “Spread Life Project,” workshops are hosted on the following: the following: medicinal gardens, how to make medicinal teas, how to grow your own food, how to cook for a plant-based lifestyle, how to propagate plants, how to build a pollinator habitat, how spread life to someone by giving them a living plant. We have workshops that we will offer at the community garden and the greenhouse. As part of our spread life project, we will continue the following: medicinal gardens, how to make medicinal teas, how to grow your own food, how to cook for a plant-based lifestyle, how to propagate plants, how to build a pollinator habitat, how spread life to someone by giving them a living plant. This Earth Day, let’s remember that every plant planted, every habitat built, and every workshop taught brings us one step closer to a more vibrant, sustainable planet.