Weeds and Wildflowers = More Avocados!

One of my favourite plants (after cacao that produces chocolate!) is the avocado. They are one of the most delicious and nutritious fruits around… Avocado trees are one of the many different crops that depend on wild insects pollinators. I recently spent some time in the Kerio Valley looking at the insects visiting the avocado … Read more

Celebrating Pollinators: Pollinator Conservation Handbook Launched!

Dear All Many greetings. Am very pleased to share with you a book featuring and celebrating pollinator diversity in East Africa. You can download the book through link by clicking on the cover image below:   To whet your appetite here’s a sneak preview of some of the pages from the book:   You can … Read more

Bees pollinating cucumbers in Turkana

Hello – greetings from Turkana in Northern Kenya… Up here checking in on my lab at the Turkana Basin Institute and spent half a day looking at bees pollinating the cucumbers being cultivated at the institute. Cucumbers are one of my favourite salad items and make a refreshing snack up here in the desert at … Read more

Buzz! Buzz! Bees make eggplants…

Dear All Many greetings. I have been up in the hot and dusty reaches of Turkana in northern Kenya. Most people only hear about this region as a place of drought and suffering. Turkana is also a beautiful, biodiversity-rich and potentially productive place… I recently visited a pilot farming project in a remote area south … Read more

Bees make Raspberries!

Dear All A few days ago I visited a friend of mine who runs a farm on the outskirts of Nairobi. Su Kahumbu is an organic farmer who does amazing work with farmers across Kenya promoting sustainable agriculture and innovation… One of the crops growing at her beautiful model farm are raspberries. These delicious fruits are … Read more