Earth Wise

Bee Friendly Amsterdam


Listen Later

Scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm for years about the decline of bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the growth of crops.   One place where this trend has been bucked is in Amsterdam.  The diversity of wild bee and honeybee species in the Dutch capital has actually increased by 45% since 2000.

The city attributes this success to creating bee-friendly environments

including the installation of so-called insect hotels.  There has also been a ban on the use of
chemical pesticides on public land.

Four years ago, Amsterdam set a goal to convert half of all public

green spaces to native plants including species that produce flowers and fruits
that provide nourishment for bees. 
Developers in Amsterdam are encouraged to install green roofs on new
buildings which reduce reliance on heating and cooling systems and also create
habitat for wildlife.

Residents can request to have a 16-inch strip of pavement adjacent to

their homes removed in order to plant shrubs, flowers or climbing vines.  When a new highway was built in the area in
2015, local activists planted wildflowers along the sides of the road that
otherwise would have been left with only gravel or grass.  This practice has spread to other major
routes and along dikes and railways and is referred to as the Honey Highway.

All of these efforts seem to be having a positive effect.  An initial survey was conducted in 2000 to establish a baseline.  A 2015 survey of pollinators found 21 bee species not previously documented in the city.  The rest of the Netherlands has not done as well, and the Dutch government has recently introduced a pollinator strategy to revive bees, butterflies and other insects crucial to the country’s food crop.

**********

Web Links

Bees are dying at an alarming rate. Amsterdam may have the answer.

Photo, posted December 28, 2006, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Earth WiseBy Randy Simon

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

15 ratings


More shows like Earth Wise

View all
Stuff You Should Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff You Should Know

78,688 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,246 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,609 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,687 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,950 Listeners

Living on Earth by World Media Foundation

Living on Earth

467 Listeners

Science Quickly by Scientific American

Science Quickly

1,381 Listeners

Nature Podcast by Springer Nature Limited

Nature Podcast

756 Listeners

BirdNote Daily by BirdNote

BirdNote Daily

1,259 Listeners

The Academic Minute by Academic Minute

The Academic Minute

28 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

818 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,467 Listeners

The Book Show by Joe Donahue

The Book Show

34 Listeners

Everything Explained by WAMC

Everything Explained

20 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

113,121 Listeners

The Media Project by Rex Smith & Ira Fusfeld

The Media Project

39 Listeners

The Roundtable by Joe Donahue, Sarah LaDuke

The Roundtable

160 Listeners

51 Percent by WAMC

51 Percent

14 Listeners

A New York Minute in History by WAMC

A New York Minute in History

49 Listeners

The Capitol Connection by David Guistina

The Capitol Connection

22 Listeners

The Legislative Gazette by David Guistina

The Legislative Gazette

11 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,592 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,525 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,739 Listeners