Region – Rep. Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston) recently joined Governor Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, her colleagues in the Legislature, and local students in recognizing June 17-23 as 2019 Massachusetts Pollinator Week, a statewide and national effort to raise awareness of the vital role that bees and other pollinators play in agriculture and in the environment.
Dykema has long been a leading advocate for pollinator protection in the Legislature, first filing legislation to protect Massachusetts pollinators in 2015.
Dykema filed H.763, a bill that would protect pollinator health by curbing overuse of neonicotinoid pesticides, a class of pesticides associated with harmful impacts on bees. The legislation would limit use of neonicotinoids, or “neonics,” to registered and licensed professionals who have received the proper training and would direct the Department of Agricultural Resources to update training materials to include information on the risks that neonics pose to pollinators. H.763 has 153 bipartisan co-sponsors and the support of the Attorney General, as well as a diverse coalition of stakeholders that includes beekeepers, farmers, scientists, environmental advocates, and nursery growers.
