In this episode we speak with Susan Collins, owner of Bird and Bee Hawai‘i on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. As you will hear, Susan has gone to great lengths to educate folks about bees, bee keeping, and legislation related to bees in Hawaii. We talked about how she got here, where things are going, and then heard a very recent update related to colony collapse on the mainland, and the impact of government cutbacks, DOGE (the US Department of Government Efficiency) and the spending freezes implemented by the Trump administration.
Brought to you by University of Hawaii College of Tropical Ag. and Human Resources (CTAHR), and the Seeds of Well-being (SOW) Project. This podcast is supported by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
Resources:

• Bird & Bee Hawaiʻi
• Richard Spiegel Course
• Crops that rely on pollinators
• Hoʻola Farms Programs for Veterans
• Hawaii County “Bee Bill” 144
• World Bee Day 2025 in Hilo
• Our earlier podcast with another bee keeper

Find out more about us:

• Seeds Of Wellbeing website
• Seeds of Wellbeing Resource Hub
• All the SOW links