[Ecoed] Call for articles on education about urban pollination and food security

[Alan Berkowitz]

Pollination Services and Food Security in the City
CATE Journal, Volume 3

We are soliciting articles on pollination ecology, pollination services,
and urban community gardens for an upcoming issue of the online
peer-reviewed journal, Cities and the Environment (catejournal.org
<http://www.catejournal.org/> ) to be published November 2008. We are
particularly interested in articles about education and outreach around
these topics.
 
Critical ecosystem services provided by pollinators are at risk, with
declining populations of both native and non-native bees. More than one
third of temperate food crops are dependent on pollination, according to
some estimates. Recent work has addressed the potential impacts of loss
of pollinators for commercial agriculture. But as urban areas expand and
an increasing proportion of the human population lives in cities, the
role of pollinators dwelling in urban and suburban areas may likewise
become increasingly critical to understand. 
 
We aim for this volume of CATE to address a suite of related issues in
urban pollinator ecology and community gardening. What roles do
pollinators play in urban ecosystems, both for native plant populations
and for crop plants grown in private and public gardens, and in nearby
farms? Can urban gardens function to support native bees and other
pollinators? Community gardens provide affordable, nutritious food
sources for many urban residents. What impact might pollinator declines
have on community gardens and on the people that use them? And can
community gardens contribute to ecological literacy by enhancing
understanding of the importance of pollination? 

We invite contributions to Cities and the Environment (CATE) on these
and related issues. Please submit articles by 1 April 2008. For further
information, contact Paige Warren (Associate Editor, CATE) at Department
of Natural Resources Conservation, UMass-Amherst, ph: 413 545 0061,
email: pswarren at nrc.umass.edu.
Thank you for your help in letting people know about this exciting
opportunity.
Alan Berkowitz, Associate Editor, CATE
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Alan R. Berkowitz, Ph.D.
Head of Education
Institute of Ecosystem Studies
PO Box R (181 Sharon Turnpike)
Millbrook, NY 12545
Phone: (845) 677-7600 ext. 311 Fax: (845) 677-6455 
Email: berkowitza at ecostudies.org
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