Week 4: Global Vs. Local

Welcome back to my blog.

This week, I met with Dr. Tim Leslie, Ph.D. in entomology, and professor of biology at LIU Brooklyn. He explained that there are thousands of species of solitary bees, some not found in NYC, and not all of which share the same reproductive and pollination patterns. Thus, the scope of my project is unrealistically large. The equation, which I previously mentioned, for calculating the number of solitary bees in general, actually applies to a population of solitary bees (as Dr. Leslie pointed out, “population,” in this context, refers to a specific species). I will retire the idea of calculating the number of solitary bees in NYC alongside NYC’s feral cat population.

Dr. Leslie did propose that I instead frame the bee section of my whitepaper in the context of the struggles that solitary bees face in urban areas, specifically NYC. He also has conducted studies into types of solitary bees that he found in NYC and what they pollinate, among other data. A master’s student of his conducted another study which surveyed community gardens in NYC and which types of bees and agriculture were present. Dr. Leslie strongly encouraged that I conduct similar research, and ask community gardens two questions: the types of agriculture that they grow, and if they’ve had problems with feral cats. I believe that these are excellent ideas to adopt into my project. Thanks, Dr. Leslie!

BBAWC (Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition) responded to my request for an interview, which I’m currently scheduling. I’ll use the data for my feral cat graph, which I plan to have off the ground in the next two weeks. In the meantime, I’ve read chapters 6 and 8 in The City Is an Ecosystem. Chapter 6, co-authored by Dr. Leslie, discusses globally declining bee and bird populations, and how to actionably change urban areas to best combat this. Chapter 8 describes the almost two-decade-long effort to draw neighborhood awareness of the broader ecosystem by getting children and adults involved in sustainable agriculture at The Old Stone House in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I’ve also selected six chapters from the 2014 anthology Environmental Law and Contrasting Ideas of Nature which reveal the origins of public perceptions of various parts of the ecosystem. The legal angle of the anthology will also help guide my whitepaper’s solutions to be in accordance with the law.

I’m very appreciative of my mentors’ advice which informed me to implement this adjustment in course for my project. I remain optimistic, and I look forward to reading the research that I’ve set for myself next week, and eventually to writing my whitepaper.

Thank you for reading.