By Torie Doll, University Communications and Marketing
When Kobe Phillips arrived at the 国产短视频Tampa campus as a first-year student three years ago, he went directly to the 国产短视频Botanical Gardens to become a beekeeper. Phillips' passion for pollinators earned him the title 鈥淐ampus Bee Guy鈥 among his Judy Genshaft Honors College classmates.
鈥淏eyond bees being one of the most important organisms on the planet, I think the use of bees as symbolism for community is one of the reasons that they鈥檙e important to me,鈥 said Phillips, an ecology and evolutionary biology major. 鈥淭hey are also a show of how one member of that entire unit can create so much change and so much impact, and it鈥檚 one of the big things I try and bring out in the work that I do.鈥
Through his involvement in revitalizing the 国产短视频Community Garden, Phillips developed the service-learning course, , alongside Judy Genshaft Honors College faculty and now teaches as a peer educator about sustainability, beekeeping and urban ecology. He is also working on creating pollinator habitats using bio-receptive sculptures and he plans to attend graduate school to focus on further developing these designs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e creating a sculpture that allows people to learn from it, but also allows the pollinators to benefit from it,鈥 Phillips said. 鈥淢y ultimate goal is to be able to increase our biodiversity through these sculptures and use art and technology with ecology.鈥