Many bees (and other pollinating insects) have been pushed out of the city by sealing and building development. Yet bees perform vital work. In addition to the honey bee, which collects delicious honey for us, wild bees also pollinate many plants and thus ensure a flourishing diversity. Many plants are naturally dependent on pollination by insects in order to produce seeds. We want to help bees return to the city and provide them with a pleasant habitat and food within the city.
To this end, we have set up (mobile) flowering meadows at various locations in Zittau. The flowers are not only beautiful, but also draw attention to the insects' precarious circumstances. Have you spotted them yet?
Have you taken a special photo of a bee or on the subject of bees? Then take part in our competition and send it to us at the following email address. The best photos will be awarded a small prize and exhibited on our Environment Day on November 3, 2021, in the foyer of House ZI IV.
The closing date for entries is September 30, 2021 and we look forward to seeing your contribution!
The winners of the construction competition for insect hotels in the "Mobile Bee Meadows" project have been chosen and awarded prizes in the last few days.
The winners are Mr. Alexander Klimmek and the Ringwelski construction team. Mr. Klimmek has built a very original insect hotel to hang from a mix of recycled and natural materials. The filling consists mainly of natural materials such as bamboo cane, birch wood, straw, pine cones and beech branches. The paint is biodegradable tempera paint (vegan). A tin can, cardboard rolls, ice cream sticks, tetra pack lids for the feet, packaging material for felt pens as wings and jute string from old Christmas presents were recycled for the construction. The front of the bee is decorated with eyes made from crown corks. Prof. Ringwelski and her daughter worked together to build an insect hotel out of wood and put various old items to new use. The hotel stands in their garden and is waiting for its inhabitants to move in.
Beedabei, the art project that makes bee feeding stations visible in European cities with its bright yellow balcony boxes, launched a nationwide flash mob - the Beedabei Sternstunde - on May 20, 2021, World Bee Day. On this day, European stars made up of 10 assembled, bee-friendly planted Beedabei balcony boxes will pop up in municipalities, associations, schools, parks, kindergartens, companies or private individuals. The participants can be found on the map of Germany on the Beedabei website. The photos and videos can be found on all social media channels under the hashtag #Beedabei or with the tag @Beedabei.
A little help on what to consider when building an insect hotel:
Building an insect hotel
The project is being realized with the kind support of Stadtwerke Zittau GmbH and Städtische Dienstleistungs-GmbH Zittau.
