This story was released as part of On Our Minds: Road Trip, a podcast by PBS News Student Reporting Labs.
Within New York’s skyscraper rooftops, behind backyards, and buzzing near my favorite flowers are our city’s very own native bees.
We have bumble, mason, carpenter, leafcutter, the list goes on! They fly across the city, weaving from sidewalk gardens to window box planters to flowering trees in front of my sidewalk corner bodega. But New York City’s diversity doesn’t stop at just people and culture. We live amongst over 200 bee species.
These creatures, small yet mighty, pollinate over half the flowers spanning over the five boroughs.
I am a young beekeeper and the president of my university’s beekeeping club. Needless to say that these creatures buzz around my mind all year long. I got my start beekeeping by caring for two hives behind the Weeksville Heritage center museum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
While my main focus was caring for the bees I could not help but notice the culture that flowed throughout the neighborhood. And the mere fact that these hives were situated behind the historically preserved homes built within one of the first free black communities in the 19th century.
I have also found myself introduced to two hives behind another historical house in Flushing, Queens. Honeybees and birds dance around the garden of the Voelker Orthe Museum. The 19th century house was once the home of a middle class German immigrant family, and serves as a time capsule of their lives and culture. And now, later in the Spring I will be beekeeping at the Alice Austen House museum situated in Staten island, this museum gives us a look into pre-stonewall LGBTQ+ history within NYC.
One of my favorite parts about New York City is its incredible inclusivity. I see New York’s diversity as beautifully crafted mosaics like the ones I see down in the subway. With each tile being different cultures, immigrant communities, enclaves, cultural fusions, and newer unique innovations. My favorite pollinators are probably bumblebees. They are the most common variant in NYC, and they are native to NYC!
I see them all the time around the flowers, around public school even. I guess other pollinators that immediately come to mind are wasps. Some may not really think of them as pollinators, just as pests honestly, they can be scary. That is true, but they do their work! They pollinate for sure.
In my opinion, beekeeping is one of the prime examples of humans working alongside our surroundings. If you have ever wondered who to thank for the beautiful flowering plants blooming throughout central park or the fresh vegetables of union sql farmers market, thank the native bees!
NYC continues to be one of the most culturally diverse cities. Additionally, within just these five boroughs we house over 7, 000 species of plants and animals. Despite our urban landscape, it is important we care for the variety of creatures who provide for us. No matter how small they are.
Author: Jessia Noel Cadiz
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
