IBM: Biodiversity and Pollinator Gardens

IBM: Biodiversity and Pollinator Gardens

IBM has been a long time sponsor of Bay Day for the last 4 years. 2021 is the 3rd year IBM supports Bay Day as a title sponsor.

IBM is dedicated to being a good steward of the environment and has well-established, comprehensive environmental programs and goals that help conserve natural resources and reduce our impact on biodiversity and ecosystem loss.

For example, the following four IBM sites have achieved Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) Conservation Certifications for their wildlife habitat management and conservation education programs. This includes IBM’s two largest sites in California, which are in the Bay Area.

IBM Almaden Research Center: San Jose, California
IBM Silicon Valley Laboratory: San Jose, California
IBM Corporate Headquarters: Armonk, New York
IBM Research Triangle Park: North Carolina

Wildlife habitat management and conservation education programs at these sites range from maintaining nesting boxes for avian species and conducting semiannual bird counts to providing pollinator-friendly habitats and organizing employee nature and species identification walks.

pollinator garden in bloom
bug on yellow flower

In continued efforts to support ecosystem diversity and well-being globally, IBM has set a goal to plant 50 pollinator gardens at IBM locations globally by year-end 2023.

An important objective of this goal is not only to plant pollinator gardens but also to engage employees to help plant and care for the gardens. In addition, IBM is committed to not only fostering site-level habitat management, but also sharing habitat management and conservation knowledge with employees. In March 2021, IBM leveraged its 30-year collaboration with WHC to develop education materials on how to create pollinator-friendly habitats and provided it to IBM employees worldwide. Employees can reference these geography-specific Conservation Pollinator Toolkits to learn what plants are suggested for their region, including planting instructions, to start their own pollinator gardens at home, in their communities or at work. Pollinators are essential for maintaining a diverse ecosystem and a simple and effective way to support pollinators is to plant appropriate flowering plants that attract and provide pollinators with the habitat resources they need.

IBM would like to share the North America Pollinator ToolKit with anyone who is interested in planting their own pollinator garden. The toolkit will help determine the plants that are best suited for the soil and climate in your area.

monarch butterfly
butterfly