A Cornell study found an estimated 5.5 million ground‑nesting Andrena bees living under East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, NY, revealing that graveyards can host large, long‑standing animal aggregations. Urban burial sites often escape intensive landscaping or redevelopment, making them inadvertent sanctuaries for pollinators, native plants, and other wildlife.
— If cemeteries routinely harbor significant biodiversity, they should be considered in urban conservation planning, pollinator protection strategies, and heat‑island mitigation policies.
Bob Grant
2026.04.29
70% relevant
The article documents how long‑term human exclusion around Chernobyl has allowed large predators and other species to recover despite radiation — directly paralleling the existing idea that places avoided by people (cemeteries, exclusion zones) can become unexpected biodiversity refuges.
Jake Currie
2026.04.16
100% relevant
The Apidologie paper and Cornell reporting estimating 5.5 million Andrena regularis bees at East Lawn Cemetery (Steve Hoge, study author; Cornell Chronicle coverage).
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