This is a hybrid event; Dr. Dino Marins will be speaking to a live audience in the David Attenborough Building, which will be live streamed to our audience on zoom.
About the talk
Honeybees are one of the most familiar and widespread insects that are kept, managed, exploited and familiar to humanity. This talk will take a deeper view at the relationship between honeybees and people, travelling through time and connecting this relationship to the wider landscapes, community and conservation. 'There is a crisis around bees' or 'the bees are disappearing' is often cited, shouted and repeated around the world. However, the reality is that overall honeybee numbers are actually increasing worldwide, the result of more intensive management, mass production and commercial trade of queens and colonies. Honeybees, as livestock, are subject to the same mass-production whims and woes that characterise all industrial production systems. Honeybees, as ancient creatures who have journeyed alongside people for millennia, are also important in cultural, spiritual and natural systems, representing one of the most powerful ways in which people connect with nature. With examples drawn from around the world, this talk will highlight the complex, multi-faceted relationship we have with honeybees and explore how we can all play a role in better stewardship of the planet.
About our Speaker
An entomologist and evolutionary biologist, he is currently the Director of the Turkana Basin Institute. He served as the Executive Director of the Mpala Research Centre for seven years (2015- 2022) and is affiliated with Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. He holds a PhD from Harvard University (2011), and a BA in Anthropology (with distinction) from Indiana University (1999).
Dr Martins’ seeks to share the wonder and diversity of nature, especially the hidden, beautiful details that are intrinsic to human life. Teaching people to see, understand and care about the details of the living world are central to his research and writing.
Communicating science and celebrating biodiversity is one of Dr Martins passions and he has authored the ‘Insects of East Africa’, ‘Butterflies of East Africa’ and ‘Our Friends the Pollinators: A Handbook of Pollinator Diversity and Conservation in East Africa’. This book has been downloaded over 10,000 times from the web and content accessed by millions of farmers through digital/social media platforms. He recently completed his third children’s book, ‘Raven & Rover’, published by Penguin Random House.
Something to look at before the talk:
https://discoverpollinators.org/pollinators-handbook/
