Place, Power, And Purpose: Pollinators On Western Landscapes
Bees date back over 10,000 years on the American continent and are vital to the health of almost every bite of food we eat, but today they face threats from industrialization and habitat fragmentation. Melanie Kirby is a decades-long beekeeper, a scientist, a member of Tortugas Pueblo, and extension educator for the land-grant program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Her diverse background gives a perspective on bees and pollinators that brings together Western and Indigenous perspectives, and that can help everyone from farmers to urban gardeners play a role in the revitalization of this keystone species.
Show Notes:
2’19 being called to beekeeping
4’35 learning bee stewardship
7’10 overemphasis on honey bees to the disadvantage of other pollinators
8’44 the deep history of bees
13’00 bee breeding, resilience, and stewardship
15’44 bees as “livestock” migrating for pollination services
18’25 dangers to bees from farm chemicals
19’48 diversifying monocrop plantations by adding hedgerows and flowering plants
20’43 bees contribute to virtually every bite we take
22’14 the importance of integrated landscapes
24’19 the importance of healthy soil for bees
24’44 the prevalence of ecoanxiety among young people
25’56 the need for both scientific knowledge and traditional indigenous practices
28’28 the double edged sword of the “trendiness” of bees
29’42 the practice of breeding queen bees, breeding place-specific bees for resilience
31’23 place power and purpose in pollinator stewardship
37’44 Institute of American Indian Arts as a Land Grant college
43’21 harvesting honey
45’15 the garden at IAIA
47’20 wildfires and bees
Bee photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash
More Episodes
Episode 186 – Fair Trade: Good for farmers, the land, consumers, and business
Fair Trade: Good for farmers, the land, consumers, and business Paul Rice started out as an anti-capitalist labor organizer, working with coffee farmers in Nicaragua in the 1980's. Over time he saw that what growers needed most was a fair price for their product — and...
Episode 185 – Federal Fiasco for Farmers
Federal Fiasco for Farmers Since the new administration took office, programs benefitting farmers have been slashed, frozen, paused, and canceled –– and the effect is leaving them in a tough position. Carolina Mueller, Associate Coalition Director of the National...
Episode 184 – Let it Flow: Restoring Balance to Parched and Flooded Landscapes
Let it Flow: Restoring Balance to Parched and Flooded Landscapes Minni Jain and Philip Franses are co-founders of The Flow Partnership, and they are co-authors of the new book, The Language of Water: Ancient Techniques and Community Stories for a Water Secure Future....