University of Minnesota Twin Cities Bee Research Laboratory

Damon Farber led the landscape design for the University of Minnesota’s Bee Research Laboratory from community engagement through construction administration, helping shape a site where research, education, and pollinator habitat work together. Designed in support of the University’s Entomology Department, the landscape extends the laboratory outdoors, creating spaces for researchers and students while making pollinator ecology visible and accessible to beekeepers and the broader public.

That mission directly shaped the organization and character of the landscape. Secure research areas provide dedicated space for observing pollinator behavior and maintaining research hives, while a public demonstration garden shows how native and adapted plants can support bees and other pollinators within a designed landscape. Outdoor gathering spaces further connect research and education, providing places for learning, observation, and collaboration within the larger St. Paul campus.

The same integration extends to the site’s ecological systems. A diverse, seasonally rich planting palette provides forage and habitat throughout the pollinator life cycle, while rain gardens manage stormwater and expand pollinator habitat. Roof runoff is captured in a cistern and reused for irrigation, conserving water while supporting the landscape over time. Together, these strategies create a living laboratory where research, education, water management, and habitat are part of a single, high-performing landscape.