Editor’s Desk: A bonus episode of Buzzkill!

By Brent Cunningham

All six episodes of Buzzkill are out, and we hope you’re enjoying them. But at FERN we’re givers, so check out this bonus episode, recorded earlier this month in New York City at a live event (and panel discussion) to celebrate Buzzkill. I mean, who doesn’t like a little something extra?

The panel was moderated by Sewell Chan, executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, and the panelists were Teresa Cotsirilos, FERN staff writer and Buzzkill host; Sara Hobel, executive director of the Horticultural Society of New York; and Rebecca Louie, the executive director of the Bee Conservancy. We appreciate their work and their willingness to share their expertise with FERN and its audience. 

Given that the discussion took place deep in the concrete jungle of Manhattan, the question, naturally, was whether the boom in urban beekeeping was good for bees generally. The answer? Yes and no. Yes, the honeybee is struggling, but at Teresa points out, “they’re doing way better than all the other bee species. And in fact have the capacity in certain circumstances to edge out native pollinators that are at even higher risk, because they will compete against them for minimal resources.” 

The takeaway was more straightforward. First, educate yourself. There are some 200 known species of bees in New York City, from the bumblebee to the tiny sweat bee. Most of these bees are native, unlike the honeybee, which comes from Europe. Also unlike honeybees, which live in hives, native bees are mostly solitary, living in holes—in the ground, in wood, wherever. The loss of habitat and forage has left many of these native species with no place to live, eat, and raise their young. Sara likened them to “single moms … looking for a nice little neighborhood. … It’s got to have a grocery store. It’s got to have a little place for when the kids want to go out and play.” 

Second, act on that knowledge. Ditch your exotic flowers and nonflowering boxwoods for the native flowering plants that our native bees evolved in symbiosis with. Leave a dish of water on your windowsill; native bees use water to make mud to plug the little holes in their solitary nests where they lay their eggs. There are so many little things we can do to make our urban environment more hospitable to our native bees.

Buzzkill took more than a year to produce, and involved a team of producers, editors, reporters, and fact-checkers. That all takes money, of course, and we rely on readers and listeners like you to help us pay for it. To inspire you, all donations between now and Earth Day will be doubled (and new monthly donations will be matched 12x) up to $15,000. Please consider a donation.