Get ready! A new quarterly magazine about bees and other pollinators is about to emerge from mailboxes across the country, fully formed and ready to fly. 2 Million Blossoms: protecting our pollinators is the newest creation from bee scientist and advocate Dr. Kirsten Traynor, former editor of American Bee Journal and IBRA’s Bee World.
Instead of stopping at the apiary gate, 2 Million Blossoms focuses on the larger questions of biodiversity, pollinator conservation, and ecology that affect our insect friends. Inside the very first issue, you will find plenty to interest both beekeepers and conservationists, including stories that delve into the environments where our pollinators struggle to adapt to an ever-changing world.
Quarterly content will include information about other pollinators you may have never considered, including flies, beetles, and wasps. January’s inaugural issue will include articles by Dr. Marla Spivak, Craig Childs author of “The Secret Knowledge of Water,” Dr. Dave Goulson, Dr. Mark Winston, and others.
Action comes from knowledge
On a personal note, I am very excited about the launch of this new periodical. I have worked with Dr. Traynor over the past several years and know her to be a dedicated and tireless advocate of pollinators. We both believe that saving pollinators requires a rigorous study of their environments, competitors, and resources. Regardless of which species we favor—managed or wild—we cannot separate them from their habitat or from each other.
You’ll discover the bumble bees of China, learn how to provide nesting habitat for solitary bees, chase bees through the desert to find rare sources of water, and become a better beekeeper and active steward of the environment.
Dr. Traynor and I believe that passionate advocacy arises from knowledge. The more we recognize the pollinators around us—and the more we can name—the more we care. So please, join me as I delve into the pages of 2 Million Blossoms. Write to me when an article inspires you, and share your new-found knowledge with friends and family.
Together we can save the pollinators that keep our world humming. So let’s do it! Sign up for your inaugural issue today—just click the cover.
How what is the address one can one subscribe to the new bee mag by K. Traynor? Al
Al,
In my post, you can just click on the image of the cover (either one) or go to https://www.2millionblossoms.com/subscribe.
I had decided I didn’t need this magazine, based mostly on the title. “Blossoms” somehow sounded too much like flower gardening, which I don’t do. I totally ignored Rusty’s line about “focuses on the larger questions of biodiversity, pollinator conservation, and ecology” (because I’m an idiot and/or I read too fast). But someone sent me a copy of the first issue (you know who you are–Thanks), which I received and read yesterday.
The first issue is beautiful, full of photos, and had a good mix of informative articles, by names I know (Rusty had two articles) and by names new to me. I am a little skeptical that they can keep this up, but that is more due to the risks of the business than to any flaw in the magazine itself. I went ahead and subscribed, on the grounds that even if it failed (known pessimist speaking), what they’re trying to do is well worth our support.
I personally found the book-type spine inconvenient because when I read something as big as a magazine I need to fold it inside-out to hold it comfortably, but many people would have the opposite opinion and be equally justified–and a book-type spine holds up better on the shelf. My answer to this objection was to subscribe digitally. I do not yet know how that will work out.
(My free issue was not contingent on my writing a review here or any place else; I’m just very opinionated.)