Nature ProtectionNothing but Flowers: Design for Pollinating InsectsGabriel Bleisch and Anna-Lea Stalder

Bees have been a part of the earths ecosystem ever since its early existence around a hundred million years ago. Well adapted to the forever changing environment, they found themselves in smaller groups, big colonies, and sometimes alone in a neverending quest for survival. While gathering food for their offsprings, they all pollinate flowering plants and some of them produce the sweet honey we all spilt over the kitchen floor before.

In the end, bees are not the only pollinators and even though they are considered to do up to 50 percent of the overall insect pollination work, they do get help during the day as well as the night from a variety of different species. Insects dominate the field of cross-pollination, but bats and birds are crucial in specific tropical regions. Insects are by far the largest class within the animal kingdom. Over 60 percent of all the documented animals around the world are insects and their importance can sometimes be overshadowed by their number of extremities. It does not matter if big, small, hairy, or slimy, insects play a major role in the global ecosystem and similar to the bees, they are vital for us humans.

First Steps towards Sustainability

Analysis

In order to understand the current situation for pollinating insects the perspective will be changed. Based on an existing shelter for small animals, the area of the Hof Wiesengrund is analysed by means of the perception of a wild bee. The introduced bee radar examines the elements of food supply, habitats and acute threats. A bees perception is highly different to the humans. The sight of a bee through faceted eyes and using a different light spectrum can only be assumed. The following representations mimic the bees perception playfully with a humble scientific background.