Please Note: Owing to a major accident that closed down Highway 60—a central route I take in commuting to WMNF each Wednesday—I was unable to make it to the radio station to broadcast ‘Talking Animals,” having to deliver an improvised version of this show from my car, with enormous (& much-appreciated!) production assistance from Jessica Greene. That’s why today’s program is missing certain elements, and otherwise sounds a bit rough around the edges.
Patrick Hardy–the founder of Bee Platoon, described as the first all-volunteer disaster response team that assists beekeepers, first responders, and the public when dealing with honeybee swarms, evacuating or sheltering bees, and more—recounts how he first became intrigued by disaster response and, even then, had ideas for improving the discipline.
In elaborating, Hardy recalls that he worked as a first responder—EMT—while in college, where he
majored in political science, observing that many poli sci majors seemed to harbor ambitions to shift the landscape in a given field. As Hardy did with disaster response, as well as having a preternatural talent for it, alongside the gumption to, for instance, write a letter to the governor of Louisiana, after watching the reaction to Hurricane Katrina, offering to come assist the state formulate its disaster response planning. (The governor’s office responded, and Hardy went to work there for a time.) Because of this kind of potent aspiration, and what appear to be catholic interests that have propelled him into an array of fields, he began making himself available to consult when certain areas experienced bee swarms (that’s when a hive splits or relocates, he explains), leading him to—once again—conclude there’s a better way for the honeybee/beekeeping realm to operate. So, he enrolled in the U.C. Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMPB), and for his capstone project, Hardy designed—you guessed it—a honeybee
disaster response team, the Bee Platoon, what’s thought to be the first, and maybe only, such response team. This was also partly the outgrowth of discovering that scientific literature about bees was woefully outdated, with the most recent paper Hardy could find on bee evacuations published in 1991. Of course, he then set out to mitigate that scenario, saying he expects to publish his paper on relocating bees early next year. Hardy offers perspectives on disaster response strategies across a range of industries, including outdoor hospitality, which involves campgrounds and RV parks—and the importance of multiple forms of warning notifications. Responding to my inquiry, he peels off briefly to address the horrific flooding in Central Texas earlier this summer—noting the deep value of having responders “pre-deploy,” whenever possible, in various settings. (https://www.beeplatoon.com/, https://disasterpatrick.com/)
ALSO: I spoke with Alicia Duval, president of Dachshund Adoption Rescue & Education—or DARE—who initially outlines some key details about that organization. But mainly, on this day, she was speaking in her capacity as the chief organizer of Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, an event slated to take place on Aug. 28, in Clearwater. Duval recounts how the passing of her longtime canine companion, Forrest Gump, was devastating, a deeply painful loss, exacerbated by non-animal lovers who made assorted comments of the “get over it—it was just a dog” variety. So, teaming with The New Barker editor Anna Cooke, Duval created the multifaceted Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, highlighted by a performance by Nashville singer-songwriter Brittany Moore, whose poignant song about losing a dog, “Give A Girl,” profoundly touched Duval. As Duval explains, the Moore concert constituted just one of many of the free event’s elements aiming to offer comfort for those grieving the loss of a pet. (https://thenewbarker.com/home.html, https://daretorescue.org/)
COMEDY CORNER: There was no Comedy Corner today.
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme”
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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