Student Garden Day buzz: Reconnecting to nature with Pollinator Club founding faculty Carrie Wells ’22

On Student Garden Day, Friday, April 18, Niners from all disciplines will plant four gardens around campus. Students who make their way to the pollinator gardens behind McEniry Building will cultivate alongside the Pollinator Club and Carrie Wells ’22, associate teaching professor of biological sciences.

“It’s all about fellowship,” Wells said. “We’re teaching people why native plants are important and the fact that their habitat for these native pollinators are declining.”

Wells, who has a master’s degree in biology from Appalachian State, a Master of Education in teaching, design and technology from UNC Charlotte, and a doctorate in biology from Clemson, helped establish the Pollinator Club in 2016. She was a member when the University earned a Charlotte Green Initiative grant to build the pollinator gardens. Wells kept the club going through the inaugural class’ graduation and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Early in her teaching career, Wells spent many hands-on hours with students. Today, her academic focus has shifted to instructional design with a concentration on online learning. She says Student Garden Day helps her reconnect with students and share her passion for pollinators. 

“It’s so rewarding, and it’s everything that I aim to do as a teaching professor wrapped up in one nice experience,” Wells said. “I love seeing students come in with curiosity, engage in something biological and leave with not only appreciation for a living plant but an interest in gardening for pollinators.”

Student Garden Day is a major marketing proposition for the gardens, and the Pollinator Club is a beneficiary. The club conducted a study, published in the American Biology Teacher in 2021, on students’ perception of pollinators before and after working at the pollinator gardens on Student Garden Day. The results showed that the knowledge students gained from the pollinator garden experience stayed with them months later. Some students even returned to work at the pollinator garden or established pollinator gardens of their own. 

Wells has a deep appreciation of nature in her work and at home. In her free time, she often goes on walks at Reedy Creek Park just southeast of the University. Beyond participating in Earth Month events, Wells recommends students and staff find small ways to engage with nature from standing barefoot in the grass to taking a hike without earbuds. 

“I think Earth Day is about connecting to where we come from as humans,” Wells said. “I think we spend so much time in our heads and with our digital technology that it’s very easy to become disconnected from the natural world.”