Have you heard the buzz? It’s the start of Massachusetts Pollinator Week – a time when advocates seek to raise awareness about the vital role that bees and other pollinators play in our lives. Yet we're all feeling the sting as pollinators — and bees in particular — continue to rapidly decline. In Massachusetts alone, colonies of bees dropped by 47% last winter, according to Bee Informed Partnership.

But earlier this year, Massachusetts took steps to protect pollinators, becoming the first state in the country to regulate a specific harmful pesticide. Meanwhile, local beekeepers have become a political force in the state, teaming up with scientists, policymakers and everyday people to save the bees. They say if their effort fails, we just might be the ones who need saving.

Guests:

Rep. Carolyn Dykema - state representative of the 8thMiddlesex District in Massachusetts. She has been working on pollinator protection legislative for years.

Mary Duane - president of the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association, who has been beekeeping for over 20 years.

Noah Wilson-Rich – CEO and co-founder of The Best Bees Company, a Boston-based company that installs and maintains honeybee hives in urban centers across the country.