SUSTAINABILITY
t first glance, a hyperscale data centre and an endangered bumblebee have little in common. One represents the rapid expansion of the digital economy. The other is a fragile pollinator, quietly disappearing from North America’ s landscapes. But in Port Washington, Wisconsin, these two seemingly disparate worlds are converging in a surprising way. At Vantage Data Centers’ Lighthouse Campus, biodiversity is not an afterthought but is a design priority – one that could play a critical role in supporting one of North America’ s endangered pollinators.
The pollinator in decline Once a common sight across the US Midwest, the rusty patched bumblebee( Bombus affinis) has experienced a dramatic population decline in recent years and was listed under the US Endangered Species Act in 2017. Today, sightings of the insect are rare.
The causes are complex but well understood. Habitat loss, pesticide exposure, disease and climate pressures have collectively reduced the availability and quality of the resources these bees depend on. What makes the rusty patched bumblebee particularly vulnerable is its reliance on a diverse and continuous floral resources. Unlike some pollinators that can survive on a single plant species, bumblebees require a succession of flowering plants from early spring through late autumn to sustain colony development, reproduction and overwintering survival.
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