UrbanBEE

🐝https://www.myurbanbee.com/

The UrbanBEE project addresses the global decline of pollinators by deploying thousands of solitary bee hotels across cities in Europe and Africa, inviting residents to host, monitor, and document pollinator activity as part of a coordinated science effort. These simple wooden structures create nesting habitats for wild bees while serving as “living laboratories” that generate real ecological data - from occupancy and species presence to seasonal trends in urban pollinator communities. Through this participatory framework, urban dwellers become active stewards of biodiversity, contributing weekly observations that inform research on bee ecology, urban nature‑based solutions (NBS), and how diverse socio‑ecological contexts shape ecological outcomes.

UrbanBEE is funded under the Biodiversa+ Nature‑Based Solutions call (2025–2027) and brings together research teams, cities, and communities across multiple countries, including locations such as Vienna, Budapest, Turin, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare, and Lund. The project’s research focuses on scaling effective biodiversity interventions across different socio‑ecological gradients, integrating local knowledge and community perspectives into urban conservation decisions, and linking biodiversity outcomes with human well‑being and ecosystem services. By embedding bee hotels into neighbourhoods and engaging citizens from diverse backgrounds, UrbanBEE not only supports pollinator populations but also generates evidence on how decentralized, community‑driven actions can shape greener, more biodiverse cities for the future.