Mark Winston discusses "Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive." This event is cosponsored by the Bee Squad.

“No other book celebrates the long relationship between humans and honeybees as powerfully, thoughtfully, and enchantingly as this one. Written in lyrical prose, Bee Time is a delightful and inspiring read.”--Thomas D. Seeley, author of Honeybee Democracy

In Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive, Mark Winston reflects on three decades spent studying these creatures, and on the lessons they can teach about how humans might better interact with one another and the natural world. He describes the low hum of tens of thousands of insects and the pungent smell of honey and beeswax. He explains how bees process information, structure work, and communicate, and examines how corporate boardrooms are using bee societies as a model to improve collaboration. He investigates how bees have altered our understanding of agricultural ecosystems and how urban planners are looking to bees in designing more nature-friendly cities.

Bee populations are diminishing due to human impact, and we cannot afford to ignore what the demise of bees tells us about our own tenuous place in the world. Toxic interactions between pesticides and bee diseases have been particularly harmful, foreshadowing similar effects of pesticides on human health. There is much to learn from bees in how they respond to these challenges. In sustaining their societies, bees teach us ways to sustain our own.

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This event is cosponsored by the Bee Squad. The University of Minnesota’s Bee Squad is committed to bringing back a bee friendly world by educating, training, and assisting people engaged in helping bees thrive. By promoting awareness about the critical contribution of pollinators to nutritious foods and a green environment, the Bee Squad helps people make choices that are good for the bees and ultimately good for us all. Learn more at www.beelab.umn.edu.

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Mark L. Winston is Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University and Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.