This week we hear a facinating conversation between an established mutimedia artist (Jasna Guy) and young artist and melittologist (Marek Stanton) on how art, ecology and the natural world overlap.

There have been extreme temperatures during the pollination of early season crops. In this episode we explore how these temperatures not only influence the activity of pollinating insects, but also the pollen they are shuttling around. 

Prairie ecosystems are essential to many pollinator species across North America. Generating prairie after its been lost can be challenging. This week we travel to Iowa to hear from the STRIPS (Science-based Trails of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips) team. They have been perfecting how to get growers to install prairie strips on the edges of their farms. 

We continue on our bee friendly gardening kick with a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico to hear how one naturalist transformed his front yard into biodiversity hotspot. Using tools like iNaturalist, he has documented over 90 bee species and 1,200 other insects on less than a quarter acre of land. 

This week we continue our September on Bee Friendly Gardening with a southern Oregon Master Gardener who has a passion for native plants. 

With the season for pollinator gardening winds down, it is a great time to start planning your garden for next year. In this episode we we learn about a national program to connect gardeners together and provide them with resources to up their pollinator gardener game.  

The Oregon Bee Friendly Wine Tour is coming to an end for 2023. We hear about what makes King Estate a great place for bees, get some gardening tips and hear about an event hosted along with the Save the Bee Foundation. 

This week we hear from Dr. Phil Allen who has the audacious idea of reducing water use and increasing benefits to pollinator by replacing lawns with subalpine meadows. 

Bumble bees nest in the darndest places - like bird houses and water meters. In this episode we learn about how to relocate bumble bee colonies. We also figure out how to get bumble bee nests where you want them, by rearing colonies from queens that emerge in the spring. 

Beekeeping takes a lot of training and mentorship. In many states, the place to learn the finer points of this trade is in state Master Beekeeper programs. We hear about the Oregon program through its annual field day.