gardeners act as important actors in urban nature conservation.

There is a lack of research that incorporates the role of gardeners in relation to their gardening practice, interest, and motivation to develop evidence-based, practice-oriented recommendations for conservation. We combine urban ecology research and Citizen Science to develop wild bee conservation strategies in urban community gardens. The results will be published and disseminated as recommendations for gardeners, politics, urban planning and nature conservation. The cooperation between scientists and gardeners is intended to promote the interest and motivation of urban residents for nature conservation beyond joint research.

Our pilot project in Berlin in 2020 was continued and extended to Munich in 2021. The ecological research currently takes place in around 15 community gardens in Berlin and around 15 community gardens in Munich.

Munich (Webkarte) // Berlin (Webkarte)

The aim is to investigate whether and how garden features and gardening practices can promote wild bee diversity and support plant pollination.

1. Gardeners will observe pollination on selected tomato, squash, bell pepper, and strawberry plants. They documented when their plant 1) flowers, 2) is pollinated, and 3) fruits. When they harvested, they measured the size of the fruit.

2. Scientists observe wild pollinators and documented plant, soil, and climate characteristics.

3. Scientists studied the social aspects of the project.

Project duration: 01.2021 – 09.2024

Partners: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Funding: Heidehof Stiftung, Deutsche Postcode Lotterie

Contact: Munich: garten@tum.de; Berlin: Gartenbestaeuber@mfn.berlin

Website: https://www.wildbienenforschung.de/