Join us in-person to celebrate BUZZKILL in Manhattan on Mar. 3

Join us at Civic Hall, 124 East 14th Street New York, NY 10003, on March 3, 2025 at 6:30pm.

We are thrilled to celebrate Buzzkill, our new limited series podcast, with our community of supporters, readers and listeners, and enthusiasts.

Buzzkill, a six-episode narrative podcast, takes you past the familiar terrain of the pollinator crisis, exploring the full scope and scale of the problem. Buzzkill reports on the threat to our food system, explores how it fits into the larger biodiversity crisis, and makes compelling arguments about what we can do about it.

Join us for a VIP pollinator-themed reception with substantial bites and drinks from The Grand Cook followed by an engaging conversation moderated by Sewell Chan, , executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review with journalist Teresa Cotsirilos, Buzzkill host, Sara Hobel, executive director of the Horticultural Society of New York, Rebecca Louie, executive director of the Bee Conservancy, and some special guests. .

Producing high-quality, engaging audio series is extremely time consuming and expensive. We rely on our FERN community to support our work.

Your ticket to this event supports FERN’s award-winning, nonprofit investigative and explanatory reporting.

  • Doors: 6:15pm
  • VIP Reception: 6:30pm to 7:30pm
  • Panel: 7:30pm to 8:30pm
  • Dessert: 8:30pm to 9pm

And even if you can’t attend, you can still make a donation to support FERN! If you prefer to pay by check please alert us via email and send a check to FERN at 580 Fifth Ave., Ste. 820, New York NY 10036. Please note: A portion of the donation will be non-deductible.

If you’d like to attend the panel only without access to the reception, you can register here.

  • Donation levels
  • $300 per person

  • Your Information

Sewell Chan

Sewell Chan joined the Columbia Journalism Review as executive editor in 2024. Previously, he was editor in chief of the Texas Tribune from 2021 to 2024, during which the nonprofit newsroom won its first National Magazine Award and was a Pulitzer finalist for the first time. From 2018 to 2021, he was a deputy managing editor and then the editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw coverage that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Chan worked at the New York Times from 2004 to 2018, as a metro reporter, Washington correspondent, deputy op-ed editor, and international news editor. He began his career as a local reporter at the Washington Post in 2000.

Sara Hobel

Sara Hobel has led The Hort as Executive Director for over 15 years, championing urban greening to benefit people, communities, and the ecosystem. She has forged partnerships to create accessible green spaces, promote environmental equity, and integrate nature into everyday life. Notable achievements include launching The Hort’s partnership with NYC DOT to manage over 100 Open Streets and public plazas, primarily in low-income communities, and establishing NYC’s first educational greenhouse in a public park. She has also brought therapeutic horticulture gardens and programs to schools, supportive housing, and correctional facilities, ensuring more communities can experience the benefits of nature. In partnership with NYC DOT and Rutgers University, she is spearheading a five-year study to determine how plants in NYC’s streetscape under DOT’s jurisdiction can best support native solitary bees, which pollinate over 80% of flowering plants. Previously, she was VP of Education at the Wildlife Conservation Society and Director of the Urban Park Rangers for NYC Parks. She holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Rebecca Louie

Rebecca Louie is the Executive Director of The Bee Conservancy, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting bees and the environment through education, habitat creation, and advocacy — with an emphasis on transformation through stewardship in urban and underserved communities. Working closely with partners that include The Port Authority of NY & NY, the New York City Housing Authority, Wildlife Conservation Society, Governors Island, and a range of community, youth, and food security initiatives, the TBC team takes a practical, stepwise approach to conservation that is accessible and holistic. A native New Yorker, Rebecca is a former beekeeper, certified Master Composter, and the co-chair of the North American Pollinator Partnership Conference’s Pollinator Habitat Installation task force. She graduated from Swarthmore College, spent the first part of her career as a print journalist, and is the author of “Compost City: Practical Composting Know-How for Small Space Living.”

The Grand Cook

The Grand Cook started in 2011 as a rowdy weekly dinner party among friends in former Blue Hill at Stone Barns Chef Jake Missen’s home town of Iowa City. These parties were an opportunity to try new food, rant about art, and play games while we waited for the food to be ready. It was inevitably served after midnight, hours late, to a ravenous group more full of beer than sense. In 2024, The Grand Cook reemerged as a full scale catering and event company in NYC, still keeping that love of a great evening where time seems to stop and adding a high level of refinement and grace (and much improved timing.)

Food & Environment Reporting Network

FERN is the first independent, nonprofit news organization that produces award-winning journalism on food, agriculture, and environmental health through partnerships with national and regional media outlets in text, audio, and video. FERN seeks to make the food system more sustainable and equitable through powerful journalism and storytelling.