Genesis Of The Idea
Insights
Tom's Corner: Growing the Next Generation of Stewards
January 26, 2026
What might take root when microhabitats meet college campuses?
Sometimes the best ideas emerge not from a deliberate strategy discussion, but from a casual conversation over coffee. Sitting outside a local farmstand, my friend, Pam, mused: could college campuses host new microhabitats? Could those condensed, green worlds where so many future leaders live and learn, encourage the next generation of microhabitat practitioners and advocates? At first, it seemed obvious. Campuses have land, youthful energy, and creativity to spare. But we also wondered: how many campus-based microhabitat programs already exist? And what could we learn from them?
That’s when we connected with Alex Boren, a recent UC Berkeley graduate, who dove into the question for her research. What she found surprised us: there are many campus-based programs across the country, each with its own approach, goals, methods and resources. Alex created a Directory of campus programs, which you can explore on our website.
Originally, we imagined this directory as a tool for replication, something that would help anyone starting a campus program find inspiration or a model to build on. But Alex’s interviews with program leaders and her analysis revealed something deeper. She found that these projects aren’t just about native plants or pollinator plots. They can also be about belonging. She learned that tending these habitats helped them find community, meaning, and calm amid the stress of academic life. The gardens became gathering places for people as much as pollinators.
These findings suggest to us that the potential doesn’t stop there. These microhabitats are perfect living laboratories, offering research opportunities that could inform the next generation of restoration science, from soil microbiota and water retention to biodiversity gains beyond pollinators.
It’s an inspiring glimpse of what the microhabitat movement can become: not just ecological restoration, but cultural restoration—a way of teaching stewardship through practice, and connection through care.
We invite you to explore the new directory and imagine what might take root next. Do you know of a campus program we should add? (A reminder: by “program” we mean ongoing initiatives with goals beyond the installation of native plants. Those are “projects”.) Are you thinking of starting a program at your college or university? We’d love to hear from you.
Share your thoughts with me at to*@******************ss.org.
