Google Earth image showing the North Meadow of Central Park (highlighted in the top left)

While most people just use Google Earth to “fly” to their home address, this free software can also be used to identify biodiverse urban habitats such as meadows in New York City Parks. The image above shows the northeastern portion of Central Park where you can clearly see buildings, trees, and closely mowed ballfields. All of these land uses can have some value for bees and other pollinators. Small flower plantings are placed around buildings. Trees bloom in early spring and shade tolerant flowers can be found in the understory. Even mown ballfields can harbor blooming clover and occasionally provide nest sites for ground-nesting bees.

Perhaps most notable for pollinators, however is the less apparent (and relatively small) meadow in the top left of the above image. This is the North Meadow of Central Park. When I have visited this site I have seen dogbane, milkweed, bee balm, wild bergamot, sunflowers and other flowering plants blooming en masse. This mass blooming attracts a variety of unique pollinators including rare bees, predatory wasps, beetles, flower flies and others. As a result, the wild meadows of NYC are very important in maintaining the diversity and abundance of pollinators that do not do well in more commonly encountered manicured garden habitats. Hopefully, the city and its residents will recognize this and continue to protect and value these small habitats.