New UMass Pollinator Garden Takes Root at 400 Venture Way

Source: UMass News & Media

There are plenty of reasons for the UMass IT staff to keep their eyes on a screen, but the newest addition at 400 Venture Way now gives them and other university employees at the location a colorful, sustainable reason to look outside.

This summer, a pollinator garden has been installed at the university’s Hadley complex, creating habitat for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators while providing a space for UMass employees and visitors to relax and reflect.

The proposal for the garden came from members of UMass IT’s CIO Office who saw an opportunity in the landscape surrounding the off-campus building, home to staff from IT, HR, Research & Engagement, and the Controller’s Office.

“We spend much of our day moving from one screen or meeting to the next, and there really wasn’t a place here that invited people to step away from that,” says Monica Kane, associate vice chancellor for information technology and deputy CIO. “The garden gives us a space to step outside and reset.”

Installed by the Landscape team from UMass Amherst’s Grounds & Event Services, the garden was developed in partnership with the Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee and supports the advancement of campus strategic goals.

In 2022, UMass Amherst adopted the Okanagan Charter, an international commitment to embed health and wellbeing throughout university culture and operations. That work is framed around the wellbeing of “People, Place, and Planet,” connecting the built and natural environment with a broader culture of wellbeing. The university has also made sustainability a campuswide priority, encompassing both environmental stewardship and the health of the communities that make up UMass Amherst. 

Both come together in the university’s 2024-34 strategic plan. Its Connect for the Common Good goal calls on UMass Amherst to “foster success through an inclusive, healthy, accessible, and sustainable community.” At 400 Venture Way, the garden brings those ideas into a literal and local form.

“The work of the Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee extends to every part of campus operations, including our off-campus locations,” says Tilman Wolf, deputy chancellor for operational and organizational strategies and senior vice provost for academic affairs. “The pollinator garden at 400 Venture Way is a tangible connection between our strategic priorities, environmental stewardship, and the wellbeing of our campus community.”

As the plants become established and the garden continues to flourish, it will grow into a welcoming, peaceful place for the entire campus community.

“I hope people make it their own,” Kane says. “Come have lunch, take a break, meet someone for coffee. We want this garden to be a space where people from across campus spend time and unwind.”