Terry Oxford: Sustainable Urban Beekeeping

Terry Oxford is a beekeeper…on the rooftops of downtown San Francisco. It’s true! Urban areas can often be better habitat for bees than the countryside because of the parks and residents’ gardens that tend to grow flowers during a wider season than happens in nature. But they have one big thing looming against them: the chemicals used in those parks and gardens put urban bees at more risk. Tune in to hear about: - The sophisticated way honeybees think about, and plan for, the future. (Hint: they’re light years ahead of us!) - Gender roles in beehives, and how sustainable beekeeping supports BOTH the male and female bees. (Conventional beekeeping often cuts males out of the operation entirely). - How chemicals used in cities have created a world full of poisonous flowers. (Let that sink in for a minute.) - The most efficient way to create food for pollinators in a city. - The story of pollination—magical AND sexy. - Why Terry is reducing her beekeeping practice while expanding it in other ways.   Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.