Compost, Cotton & Cornrows
Compost, Cotton & Cornrows is a podcast centering Black sustainability leaders across fashion, agriculture, wellbeing and beyond. Through storytelling, culture, and climate conversations, the show explores how ancestral wisdom and modern practices can cultivate regenerative futures. Hosted by Dominique Drakeford, each episode unearths powerful insights that shift the narrative of environmental justice.
Compost, Cotton & Cornrows
Episode 49 | Beyond the Classroom: André Ware on Urban Beekeeping, Experiential Learning & Expanding Life Saving Opportunities for Youth
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In this expansive episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, Dominique sits down with André Ware, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bee U NYC, an organization using urban beekeeping as a gateway to environmental education, leadership development and career pathways for underrepresented youth. Born and raised in Brooklyn, André reflects on how transformative travel experiences (from Chile and Kenya to the Peace Corps) shaped his worldview and ultimately informed his approach to youth development. Together, Dominique and André explore why experiential learning remains one of the most powerful tools for helping young people connect classroom lessons to the realities of climate change, environmental justice and community advocacy. From beekeeping and green jobs to global citizenship and cultural exchange, André shares how expanding a young person's sense of possibility can become a catalyst for lifelong leadership.
Throughout the conversation, André offers a compelling vision for what equitable environmental education can look like when it is rooted in access, mentorship and community. He discusses Bee U NYC's work engaging predominantly Black and brown youth through hands-on beekeeping, paid fellowships and partnerships with organizations such as Weeksville Heritage Center and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. Together, they unpack the importance of supplemental education beyond traditional classrooms, the urgent need to invest in youth opportunities, and the environmental justice realities many young people are already navigating. Grounded in the collective wisdom of the hive itself, André reminds us that meaningful change requires collaboration, interdependence and a shared commitment to future generations. This conversation is a powerful testament to what becomes possible when we equip young people not only with knowledge, but with experiences that help them imagine and build a more just future.
Compost, Cotton & Cornrows: the space where Black & Afro-Indigenous Vanguards are redefining sustainability through storytelling!
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I'm a huge proponent of experiential education. I strongly believe that young people learn best when their experiences outside the classroom supplement what they learn inside the classroom. And so for me growing up, that was international travel. For the next generation, it could be urban beekeeping.
SPEAKER_01It's so nice to have you on the podcast.
SPEAKER_03Thank you so much for having me, Dominique. It's a pleasure being here.
SPEAKER_01Likewise, don't mind me. I'll be drinking my coffee because mama's a little tired. But I'm excited to have this conversation with you. Co-founder and executive director of B Univers. B U. B, look, let me, let me, let me get my coffee kicking. B-U-N-Y-C, and that's B-E-E, because bzz, right?
SPEAKER_03That's correct. Formerly known as B University.
SPEAKER_01Formerly known as B University. Okay. I'm like, where did I get the university from? That did exist. Exactly. Okay, look. Yeah, you're not too off at all. Okay, I'm not too off. But before we dive into this exciting conversation, I'd love to set the tone and the texture by knowing how you define sustainability.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely. I think a sustainability is a collective for us to achieve. And they're a sort of, we could use sustainability as an umbrella term, but in as many different contexts, it always is defined by its collective, whether that is centered around food sustainability or climate sustainability, and even those as umbrella terms when we talk about environmental justice. And so it really takes everybody to ensure that we have a planet that is livable for our future generations. And we can't do that in silos. And um we can't do that unless we bridge socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, uh, gender lines. And uh there are so many different folks doing incredible work, and it takes again for us to come together and to ensure that we can help define the next generation as as folks who are truly empowered the community members instead of the folks who believe they're dictating for us.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03Um, yeah, I strongly believe that it starts with a collective.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Thank you for that dynamic definition. And I couldn't agree more. Um, I love that you grounded it in uh the collective, right? Very tribal, very village mentality. I don't know if it was intentional, but because you work with a lot of bee specialists and experts, it's it's feeling very beehive energy. I don't know if that was intentional.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. Yes. Part of our work is this live mentality for sure.
SPEAKER_01Love it, love it, love it. So, I mean, that's a great segue into uh B U N Y C, um, an organization that is engaging young people in predominantly black and brown communities to learn about beekeeping and environmental advocacy. How did you get into this world? Talk to me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely. And I I I always like to share that, you know, I'm born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. It's where I am right now. And um I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity when I was in high school, went to public school all my life. When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to travel abroad twice. I went to Chile for a month after my freshman year. I went to Kenya for a month after my sophomore year. So you can imagine how remarkable, transformative, life-changing those opportunities were. Brought in my perspective and gave more context to what I was learning in my, you know, social history classes and things of that nature. And um, you know, that led me to eventually serving in the Peace Corps. I served in Ukraine for two years, um, came back, worked in a few different youth development spaces, including um at a at a school in the Bronx where I took a group of students to Costa Rica. You know, BU is not yet my day job, but I I currently work for an organization called Global Glimpse. We take high school students from um diverse backgrounds to Latin American countries to do uh service learning projects. So, you know, for me, I'm a huge proponent of experiential education. I strongly believe that young people learn best when their experiences outside the classroom supplement what they learn inside the classroom. And so for me, growing up, that was international travel. For the next generation, it could be urban beekeeping. But the person who really introduced me to the work, uh, my good friend Rennell. Um, Ronell, uh, I've known him um for over 10 years now, and uh he worked for an organization called City Growers. City Growers, an urban agriculture um organization here in New York City. They worked um at an urban farm called Brooklyn Grange. They have a couple different sites, and um he was doing urban beekeeping for them, and he looped me into the work and just like, you know, stop by the hive, see how fascinated it was. You know, we drive up to Massachusetts, get bees from up there, drive them back down here. So um he got me intrigued in the work, and um, I think the catalyst for it turning into an organization uh was us working together on a political campaign on Staten Island. Um, a good friend of ours, his name is Ronti. Um, he was running for city council. Long story short, tapped me to work on this campaign. And I wanted to find and think through innovative ways to engage community members and say, like, we won't just have the policies. These are the types of programs we would implement if we were to be elected in city council. So uh we founded an urban beekeeping program on a city council campaign. So very much unorthodox, but um, yeah, it it taught us a lot and was was truly the start of our organization. Unfortunately, did not win the campaign, but became a 501c3. Um, so I know that that was a long way to answer your question on how I got involved with beekeeping, but yeah, it's really it wasn't really me. It was it was a good friend of mine that introduced me to the work.
SPEAKER_01Got you. Okay. I love um, I guess just the map of your journey. So I actually want to take a step back to the travel aspect and and how that expanded your perception of um of becoming, right? So I I love to know how your travels in particular developed into your definition of sustainability as a segue in to be you. Because I don't I don't hear often enough the piece about um how exploration and and global travel has shaped who we are and really expanded our understanding and interpretation of of you know sustainability and sustainable development. So I'd love for you to even tug on um just how your travel shaped you a little bit more.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely. I think I'm a I'm a key I'm a key proposal.
SPEAKER_01And one more thing. What place had the most significant impact?
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's a great question. Okay, I'll think through that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_03Um Yeah, I mean, I I uh I'm a huge proponent of travel, not because of travel in itself, but because of the way you can further diversify your skill set in the sense of when you're traveling, like you are your planner. You have to plan like where you're going in flights, your accommodation, things like that. You have to flex your communication skills, especially for if you're going to places where they don't speak English, and you have to cross language barriers. And then not just that, but cultural uh barriers as well, and and you having to learn about folks outside of what you thought were norms, you know, my norms and not everyone's norms. And so just learning that on a fly is very much uh, you know, developing a key skill set and getting to know folks from from all backgrounds and you know, even problem solving because there are a plethora of different things that can come up on travels. And so, you know, of course, traveling itself is great. Having an opportunity for me, you know, as a ninth grader, going to Santiago, Chile, in, you know, the the dead of of their winter, traveling the country with 10 other high school students from across the US. So I did not know any of them until I showed up at an airport in Miami. So to be able to, you know, essentially having to get to know folks, not just in Chile, not just not getting to know Chileans, but also getting to know the folks within my own group who, you know, may not speak the same languages I do at home. They don't necessarily look the way I do, just don't come from where I come from. Having to navigate that as well, again, I think it taught me the foundations, um, what what skills were important to try to carry on or further develop later on in my life. So, like travel, that in itself, like I strongly believe that, you know, looking at it to to help you further diversify your skill set and not just flying down to a resort and staying at a resort for a week. Like, that's that's great too.
SPEAKER_01No shade, I feel like it's a very New York thing. Absolutely. I feel like it's like, let's go to Miami, let's go to this resort, and that's the extent. No shade, no shade, New Yorkers, no shade.
SPEAKER_03And and that's not the way I think folks should travel. And so go back to your question on sustainability. You know, get to know folks from other countries. And when they say, like, my living room is open, take that accept, like, take that invite. Go crash in their living room, like get to know the countries from the local perspective. You know, eat at the local coffee shops and um support the local businesses and you know, see the see the other cities that's not necessarily the capital city, right? And I think if you do those things, again, it it broadens your perspective. It gives you better insight to the cultures and people that you are visiting. And then it just creates for um, you know, more excitement in the trip itself. Like you're not just going from museum to museum, but you're like you're you're building, I think, uh important memories and and and developing skills that I think are important in the long term. So yeah, I think that's that's that's sustainability for me is like getting like being immersed in the culture and the people, not just being a tourist. Um and my favorite place, well, usually the first thing that comes to mind, uh the first places that come to mind are Turkey. Um, I studied abroad there for a few weeks in college, um, and the food is just delicious. And you know, I I I um studied political science and international studies in in in college, and so just the history of of you know the Ottoman Empire and just Middle East in general is is is very fascinating. Turkey is up there, um Cuba is up there, of course, just its history with the United States and the Cuban embargo, and I I did a solo trip and just getting to experience that I think was was was awesome. And then um I think the last place that comes to mind, of course. I I at this point I've I've been fortunate enough to to travel to almost 50 countries, but um last place I think that comes to mind is Egypt. Um going inside the the pyramids. Like I did not know I can go inside the pyramids. I thought I could just view it from afar. Um, to be inside of a pyramid and and and go into the tombs. That's just an incredible experience to hear about it in the history books.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for sharing this. I think really, really important insight. I that level of expansiveness is something that we have to put as a pillar in our ascension by any means necessary. I too, um, I think it was eighth grade, is when I started my travels as well. I did um a People to People Student Ambassador program and wasn't as cool as Chile, but I uh I visited England, Ireland, and Wales for quite some time and did a homestay. So really, really, you know, immersing myself in British culture. But um it was it was really eye-opening, and I think it was a gateway um or a pathway to just my level of staying curious and wanting to explore. And so I'd love to know all of that knowledge and exploration. How did you transfer that into designing programs, especially for um young black and brown youth around beekeeping and environmental justice and experiential learning?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Well, you and your team, because it sounds like it was a lot of people.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, definitely not just myself.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, myself. Uh, but yeah, and and as you mentioned, I think like those those early years are very transformative and and uh important formulating, you know, your your worldview and and you know your your like who you are. And so like the having those opportunities to travel so young, I think it uh are are critical. Um but I think reflecting, reflecting on my experiences, particularly in college. I remember um I had a professor and I don't remember exactly along the lines of what he shared, but it it had me reflecting on how I was a learner, how I I best learned. I did not, I was not a A plus student in in high school or like in in school in general growing up. And so how how did I best take in information? Of course, folks are different types of learners, like folks are but you know, visual and kinetic, and like absolutely folks different types of learners. And so how was I able to learn? What made the coursework fun, relevant, that made me want to pursue a particular industry or career? Because I was fortunate enough, and essentially in high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do because of my travel experiences. I said, I am going to, and and there was an organization, long story short, don't mean to deviate too far, but there was an organization called Global Kids. Global Kids founded the high school that I went to. They're the reason why I traveled abroad. So I knew I traveled abroad. I was like, okay, I'm gonna go to college, I'm gonna do Peace Corps, I'm gonna work for Global Kids, and then I'm gonna figure it out maybe grad school. And that's exactly what I did. Very fortunate, you know, not everyone has like the privileges, the opportunities to, you know, it's not just as ABC as, you know, folks want to make it out to be, right? Right. So many other barriers that folks can go through. Um, again, it was it was those early travel experiences. And so just reflecting on how I learned best, you know, going to Chile and learning about the Chilean revolution in the 1970s and understanding the Chilean relationship with the United States. And so when I went back to my social studies classroom, I'm like, oh, these, these world events, these world issues are are not that far away. Like they want you to make, they want you to think that events and issues that are that are happening on the other side of the globe in Kenya or Cambodia are uh do not affect what we go through on a day-to-day basis. And it does, right? But just allowing for folks to make that connection for themselves, I think is very important. And, you know, there are a few different ways you can do it. Again, for me, it's travel abroad, and and for B, we use urban beekeeping. But even a coding, even a coding program, right? Like there's so many ways that we interact with coding on a day-to-day basis, like pressing the microwave, going in an elevator, like that all requires coding. So when you go into a classroom and you say, hey, like this is how what we learn in the classroom connects to what we experience on a day-to-day basis, I think that's what makes young people a lot more engaged and willing to embrace the work. And so, you know, we use urban beekeeping as that, as that gateway. Like we say that, like we're not out here trying to, you know, make hundreds of beekeepers, like if their young people want to become a beekeeper, like we'll support them in the work. But using beekeeping to introduce our young people to environmental issues, green jobs. If you just put a green job and say, hey, you want to work on a windmill for a day, like like how how are they gonna make those connections? And so doing for us using beekeeping as that connector just makes the work that much more fun and relevant. So very roundabout way to get it. No, I love it.
SPEAKER_01I love I love that you, your brain is very macro and then you're able to funnel it in so that it's applicable to directly, you know, how it's directly impacting young people. And I love, I love how you're speaking about this because a lot of folks who I speak to in the environmental justice space, especially folks who are working, you know, in a specific neighborhood or community, it's it's hyper focused on what's going on in that community. So you're able to give um just uh an enlightening perspective that feels just a little bit more broader so that we can think a little bit more systemically. So I love how your interpretation of these responses are A1. What are some of the testimonials that are coming from the young folks who are funneling through your program?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's a oh my goodness. Um, we actually released for the first time um an alumni survey from our program. So we do pe pre- and post-program surveys from our students and from for, for example, our flagship program, the Urban Beekeeping Fellowship, um, that's for youth ages 16 to 24. They gain hands-on training and urban beekeeping leadership, environmental advocacy, they get paid to do so, up to $1,000 is a summer program, but the sessions primarily take place on Saturdays. So we want to make sure that it's accessible to students. If you have a day job, if even if you're in college, even if you're doing SYEP, um, you can still participate in the Urban Beekeeping Fellowship. So we want to make it accessible to folks. Um but testimonials, like, so yeah, we we have pre- and post-program surveys from that, but uh I remember uh so we just released our annual survey and I was just going through it um over the last few days, and we had a student um early on in our program. Uh, this was 2022, 2023. Um, and and I know we we spoke earlier about, you know, our work being on Staten Island, but I'm from Brooklyn. A lot of our team members are from Brooklyn. We would commute out to Staten Island at 8 in the morning. The program starts at 10:30. Um, our program takes place in a neighborhood called Stapleton, um, predominantly black and brown. Um, I would drive over to another uh neighborhood called West Brighton, predominantly black and brown. I would meet the students there, I would order them an Uber, I would take my car, I'd watch, I'd drive behind the Uber, make sure they get to the class, and ensure that they, you know, are able to participate in this opportunity. And so um, I was reading the survey data from one of those students, and he has shared that if he didn't participate in the program that summer, meeting the folks that he did, he would have probably been in jail. Like those were the roads that the words that he wrote verbatim. And like that's powerful, right? Like, I get emotional thing about it, that's powerful because um you realize the impact, right? Like it's it's really about providing access and opportunity. There's so many other great programs that are out there, but how can you participate in them if you don't have a livelihood, if you're not getting paid, right? Again, so many great programs you go there and like they'll you'll get a lot out of it, but people still need to survive. People still need to get put put food on their table, take care of siblings, and it's mandatory. The youth have absolutely and so I think it's not just. About compensating our young people rightfully for the work that they do, but also ensuring access and opportunity for our program. So yeah, I'm excited for us. We're actually working with the Cooper Union School this upcoming, upcoming spring semester. They have a data for a visualization class. And they are going to do a deep dive in our program survey data. And then afterwards do sort of like a gallery presentation on our work. So I'm excited to see, like, do a deep dive in our P and Post program survey, our alumni data is to really gauge its impact. But just from the written testimonials, there are quite a few that that stand out. But that's one that first comes to mind.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's exciting that you're gonna have somebody, you're gonna be partnering with somebody to help synthesize that data. I think it's critical that organizations really hold their data close to their chests and make sure you do the work to, you know, get the data and scrutinize the data and make sure that we are, I'm saying we like I'm y'all, but but seriously, that uh that we're really being intentional. And I love that you're working with youth who are navigating systemic barriers, which means that the work that you're doing is extending far beyond the classroom, right? And and it really spills into uh survival. Like we could talk about leadership all day, but almost at a cellular level, a lot of young folks trying to survive as just as an opening to the conversation. So I love that for y'all. And I'm assuming I I interpreted that most of the young people are from Staten Island and not commuting from Brooklyn.
SPEAKER_03Actually, we we do have a handful of students. Well, you know, our programs the first few years solely on Staten Island. This this year, uh during the summer of 2025, we expanded to Brooklyn. Um we have a site at a museum, the Weeksville Heritage Center, which I think. Yes, Weeksville. Yes, we have we actually have hives in the back of the Weeksville homes. And yeah, so I think that that in itself incredible story. But um yeah, I mean, we for the first few years with our programs only being on Staten Island, of course, a majority of those students came from Staten Island. But we've we have students commute from the Bronx, from Brooklyn, from Cannarsee, Brooklyn, to participate in this opportunity. Uh and we like to say that our programs are unintentionally competitive. Uh so for example, this this past year, we had 30 spots, 160 students applied.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, that's major.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, it just speaks volumes to um the need and the want for this type of opportunity. And so, yeah, our young people were absolutely commuting from Brooklyn, from Queens, from the Bronx to come to Staten Island for this opportunity. And there are a few key reasons to why we wanted that to happen. One, no one tends to go out to Staten Island.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, look, I'm not I'm not a Brooklyn native, but I'm like the fact that they are willing to go to Staten Island tells me that needs to be in your metrics.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, absolutely, yeah, it's is it's remarkable. Um, so you know, bringing young people from all parts of the city together, um, bringing people, we we like to say in the program, we we accept young people who are underrepresented in the green economy, women, black and brown youth, queer identifying youth. And so to bring them all together from different parts of the city, like that's essentially when they get into the workforce, that is what is gonna be like that's gonna be their experience. They're gonna have to work with people from all backgrounds, as I was sharing earlier. Like developing those skill sets, uh it's it's key to to thrive in the workforce or not just the workforce, but in anything you do. And if you're not building those relationships with folks from other backgrounds, you you can't truly get the work done. Um, and so we teach that in an early age. And then even as I was pointing out to like the 16 to 24 um age range, like that's a pretty large age range there.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03We have students who are out of college and are working full-time jobs. We have students who are junior year of high school. And so to for our young people to get that mentorship from the older, uh, from the older students and they're navigating the college process and they get to to to hear about other students' experiences, like just having that diverse experience. I I think it's it's not just again, it's not just about urban beekeeping, but it's preparing our young people for real world opportunities and it's it just starts with beekeeping.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love that so much. Um as I'm thinking about your curriculum, I'm wondering how intrinsic environmental justice is woven into it, because I think that it is often framed as a future problem. But a lot of these young people that you're, I'm assuming, working with are living the consequences of it right now. And I'm wondering if there is a transformational awareness of uh environmental injustice as they're flowing through your program and learning and growing and evolving with other folks.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. Um a few pieces. Well, for one, like that that's essentially the first day of the fellowship. Of course, it's get as young kids getting to know each other. It's um suiting up in the hive suits, it's also us talking about environmental justice. We talk about the Cross Bronx Expressway. Uh, we talk about the Goanis Canal. And I think I think uh Robert Moses is public enemy number one in our programs. Yes. But um that is very much important. And um we we work alongside other incredible organizations in in our program, in their fellowship, we have what we call environmental action projects. And so we work with community partners. Our cohort, Brooklyn, worked with the Guanes Canal Conservancy this past summer. They did uh water quality testing in the Guanes Canal, supported with planting tree beds and pollinated gardens and things like that. And our uh cohort at Staten Island uh partner with the Lower East Side Ecology Center. So again, it just goes back to like we we can't do this work in silos. It's introducing our work, it's introducing, sure, our work to other folks, but it's introducing our students to work other work that's out there. And um we in our program, we also have what we call our green jobs pipeline. So we wanted to intentionally engage our uh alumni following the fellowship and following our high school programs, and we effectively provide our alumni with part-time jobs in a cohort-based model. So um they can apply for the pipeline. It's not necessarily competitive, it's really just um about whether their schedules and uh interests fit, but they apply for the pipeline, they go through different tracks. They can go through the beekeeping track, they can go through the education track, they can go through the arts and culture track, and essentially we support them on that track. They either work with BU as a program coordinator or an events coordinator, or they'll work at um the Alice Austin House or Weeksville Heritage Center supporting their work, or they will work at um Uprows in Brooklyn doing um civic engagement. So um yeah, it's really about not just doing our work in silos, but again connecting our young people to the work that is out there. Um, and they're again incredible folks doing um great work out there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Okay, look, you mentioned Weeksville twice. I know there's probably a beautifully rich story, but you're gonna have to give us a little bit because Weeksville is such a culturally historical relevant site and landmark. Just just g just give us a little bit about how y'all got hives at Weeksville and what that collaboration is is about.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. Yeah, we have incredible uh partners at at Weeksville from their CEO and Dr. Covington and and and other folks that we've worked with um over the past year. Um yeah, I mean, we're we're looking to expand. We were looking to expand our programs in in Brooklyn. It's it's challenging for us to find space. Of course, we need an outdoor space for the hives, we need an indoor space for the education, and we need storage space to put all of our things. And uh Weeksville, uh we we were fortuitous enough to come across them and they were uh open arms. And um, for our young people to uh practice urban beekeeping with that background, that setting, I it it's it's it's it's incredible, incredible to say the least. And so, yeah, um I'm sure a lot, many, if not most, of your listeners know about Weeksville, but for folks who don't, um these are homes that were built by um freed slaves who who built a community called Weeksville um in what is present-day Bedsty Brooklyn. And um this settlement was was built in the 1800s, and and these very same homes are still standing today. Um and we have hives right behind them. And so um it is incredible to have our young people from all backgrounds, yeah, doing urban beekeeping with these homes and be in that setting. And and for us to really understand um the importance of that site is remarkable. Yeah, shout out to Weeksville Heritage Center. Yeah, folks haven't gone there, um they absolutely should incredible partner trust.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think that there's something to be said about expanding sustainability curriculum. Like the the history is sustainable in and of itself, and the programs that are running through Weeksville are sustainable, but to have that environmental sustainable, that more traditional um environmentalism component, I think is so key. And it and it gives a very full circle scope of how important a collaboration like that is. So shout out to y'all. That's dope.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, thank you. And yeah, shout out to Weeksville and and shout out to Weeksville. Yeah, and then like in the again, these homes, you know, 150 to almost 200 years old. And yeah, you know, it like it's very much relevant in the discussion around climate change and uh the weather, it it absolutely affects these homes, everything from um extreme heat to cold and um from from rising tides with extreme rain and and rainfall. It uh it just makes the conversation that much more relevant. And again, it just reinforces the fact that we can't do this work in silos and it's just it's just all interconnected. Um and so yeah, it's just it's a really neat space to have our programs.
SPEAKER_01Yes, come on, Andre and Squad. I love it. When you're squad, I'm not gonna forget about the team, honey. But when you're thinking about just the future of education, especially for young folks who have been systemically disenfranchised, we'll use that language for the time being. Um do you feel like traditional education models should be completely uh, I guess, dismantled and redone? Or do you like the idea and think it's more impactful to have adjacent education models such as yours? What do you think is more prevalent, more powerful for the future of education?
SPEAKER_03Oh man, that such that is such a loaded question.
SPEAKER_01It is loaded. Look, they call me Dom loaded question Drake for it, just letting you know.
SPEAKER_03I mean, um, I can go into like how schools are funded with property tax, and you know, like I I can go that route and and and share like the inequities around how the the the the like how schools are financed. I I won't go that route. I'll save that for another day. Um, but I think regardless of of what opportunities are in school, young people need supplemental opportunities. We need after-school programs. You know, uh unfortunately it is easy for curriculum to be manipulated. And so, like, you know, for whether it's like the federal government dismantling uh, you know, uh the Department of Education or Oklahoma putting what they think is is is sh is correct in in their school You know, in school curriculum, unfortunately, there are plethora ways of of uh in which it can be manipulated. Hands-on learning opportunities can can never be ne can be never be manipulated. Getting out in the field, getting that that context, drawing those those understandings to your day-to-day experiences, traveling, getting understanding of how climate change in Kenya affects what I go through on a day-to-day basis here in Brooklyn, New York. Those experiences can never be manipulated. And so, um, sure, like I can I we can get into like traditional, you know, education and and and and and you know, the the holes and the continuous holes that that come up. But I I think regardless of of wherever traditional education takes us, there will forever be a need for supplemental education opportunities, experiential education opportunities, after school educational opportunities. Um is critical. It is critical for our young people to have that outside of school.
SPEAKER_01Love it. Love it. Fundamentally, we need supplemental and adjacent educational opportunities for our young folk. Period. Uh okay. And to round out this conversation, I think one of the most important questions I'm gonna ask you is what have you learned from bees?
SPEAKER_03Yes, I have learned a lot from bees. They all have a role in the hive. They are communal, they cannot survive without that community. They literally die on their own. And for our organization to run, it really is an all hands-on-deck approach. We have to fundraise for the these opportunities. We have to develop our uh programs, we have to manage our finances, we have to promote externally on our social media. And though that's just, you know, four things that are the umbrella where, you know, a thousand things fall under that. Same thing with the hive. Same thing with the hive, whether they are uh the queen is is birthing new bees or um producing honey to survive for the winter. We take that same approach to our organization and we very much work together. We very much have that family bond. I mean, I've created a an organization with my my best friends, my closest friends, friends that I've known for years now, um, folks who have become some of my closest friends. Um, so we very much have that community, that vibe, that bond, and it parallels to the behavior of our bees intentionally.
SPEAKER_01So yes, thank you for that symbiotic response and just how connected bee ecosystems are with our ecosystems and reminding us to continuously be learning from nature. Um so yeah, love, loved, loved this conversation. Um, I love that it went in a direction that was more systemically focused. Uh, and just your lived experiences have continuously shaped and expanded what is possible for youth, especially systemically impacted youth. So thank you for all that you're doing and and just how you are literally a bee in a beehive making shit happen. Like, thank you so much for your contribution to sustainability and just peoplehood. Like, you're really dope. It was a great conversation. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Thank you for having me on this platform. Um the work that you do is incredible. So I I very much appreciated the time here today.
SPEAKER_01Of course. And before you jet, I am doing something this season called a sustainability soundtrack. So I'm gonna ask you a couple rapid fire questions that is going to create our future mixtape. Let me know if you're ready.
SPEAKER_03I'm ready. I'm ready.
SPEAKER_01All right. What song is bringing you joy right now?
SPEAKER_03Oh my goodness. Uh I might, I might have to cheat. I'm not, I'm not sure. No, no, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Um, I'm gonna go with um I found out about this group called Elm Elm Jack. Elm Jack. Um uh I I believe they're from from New York, uh, from Queens, possibly. But um I'm gonna go with a song called Get It How You Live by Elm Hill.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay, get it how you live. I'm gonna have to check that out. Um, what song is healing or brings wellness when you're having a challenging time?
SPEAKER_03Oh, healing or wellness. Um, to be honest, like I I don't know if I list to music in certain moods. I just listen to whatever I feel. But I think a a song that comes closest to that, I'm gonna go with right now. It's uh Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now by the Smiths.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01And the last question which trips people up is what song sounds like sustainability?
SPEAKER_03Song sounds like sustainability. What song sounds like sustainability? I'ma go, I'm gonna go with Big L. Big L, Rest in Peace. Uh just dropped the new album, Harless Harlem's Finest. Man, Rest His Soul, has been gone since the 90s. They still dropping albums. That's sustainability right there.
SPEAKER_01That's hilarious. That's hilarious. I've heard a lot of responses, but that one is it is sustainability. Word, word, word.
SPEAKER_03That's a setup estate right there. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Word. That's hella funny, yo. That's good. That's good. That is sustainable. Regenerative, if you will. Yep, yeah. Hella funny. All right, Andre. Ah, okay. Thank you so much again. And let the folks know how they can tap in with you and or the org and stay connected with all that you're doing.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. You can follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn at B U N Y C. That's B-E-E-U-N-Y-C. Um, or check out our website, also B-E-E-U, the letter U N Y C Dou.
SPEAKER_01I know that's right. And that is a rap. Come posting cut in the core.
SPEAKER_00We've turned nothing to gold since the birth of our soul is ingrained in our black is more than flesh and bone. Planted deep in our cold, and we bear the fruit. Yeah, they wonder our stride so bold, and our prize stone gold after all we've been through. Rich as the texture of our crown, crown, crown. We pass it on to the youth.