In the project "Gardeners research for wild bee conservation", recommendations for wild bee conservation in urban community gardens are being developed to strengthen the role of gardeners as important actors in nature conservation. After the pilot phase in 2020/21, the project by Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and Technische Universität Munich is now funded by the German Postcode Lottery (Deutsche Postcode Lotterie).
Community gardens are important places for people and nature in the city. The project combines urban ecology research and citizen science to motivate and support gardeners to practice nature conservation in their community gardens. The aim of the project is to develop measures for the protection of wild pollinators in the city together with the gardeners, to implement them and to evaluate their success. An innovative approach is created by focusing on the pollination performance of wild bees, which is not only an indicator of the effectiveness of conservation measures, but also contributes to a high crop yield for the gardeners. The research activities and results are regularly communicated through workshops, lectures and social media.
The joint project of the Technical University of Munich (TU München) and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) is funded by the Deutsche Postcode Lottery for two years.
Prof. Dr. Monika Egerer (TU Munich) and Ulrike Sturm (MfN Berlin): "We are very happy about the funding, especially as the cooperation of scientists and citizens in research and nature conservation is becoming more and more important."
Learn more about the pilot project on our Naturblick platform and on Upe Lab.