George Masson

Can we create green energy and provide a place for pollinators to call home? Can we improve the visual quality of solar panel arrays while also improving local water quality? Can we do all of these things on land of marginal value? These are the questions sought by the work of Aaron Hanson, George Masson and a group of IonE Undergraduate Leaders. Solar-pollinator habitat represents an opportunity to “stack the benefits” of solar PV arrays via the placement of perennial pollinator habitat in the space below the panel’s surface. Our interdisciplinary team of Undergraduate Leaders has taken it upon themselves to investigate the myriad environmental, social and community health benefits derived from solar-pollinator PV. We would like to introduce our vision for a project to convert the solar array just north of the West Bank Anderson Library into a pollinator habitat that we hope can serve to improve ecosystem health on campus as well as educate. This confluence of green energy and restorative ecosystem practice represents a forward-thinking solution to climate change, and we hope you’ll feel the same way following our iMovie!