Home for Bees: A Biodiversity Landscape Intervention

Home for Bees is a small-scale biodiversity landscape intervention that integrates habitats for solitary bees and wasps into everyday public spaces. In Taiwan, solitary bees and wasps represent a highly diverse group: some species visit flowers and contribute to pollination, while others prey on small insects, playing an essential role in maintaining ecological balance.

Set within a paved, human-centered environment, the project introduces a solitary bee and wasp hotel as a biodiversity node, complemented by native flowering plants that support multiple ecological functions. Flower-visiting solitary bees benefit from seasonal nectar and pollen sources, while predatory solitary wasps are supported through a richer insect community attracted by the plantings. Together, these elements form a functioning micro-habitat within an otherwise ecologically limited setting.

The current ecological pilot site is installed at the Changhua Changbin Green Energy Center, a coastal landscape characterized by strong winds, high exposure, and limited ecological structure. Since its installation, the habitat has successfully attracted solitary bees to nest within the bee hotel, demonstrating the effectiveness of micro-scale habitat interventions even in challenging coastal environments.

Rather than separating nature into designated conservation zones, Home for Bees embeds biodiversity directly into daily landscapes. The placement of the insect hotel responds to sun exposure, wind conditions, and pedestrian movement, ensuring ecological suitability while maintaining spatial harmony within the site.

By combining habitat creation, landscape design, and environmental education, the project demonstrates how small landscape interventions can support complex biodiversity. Designed to be modular and replicable, Home for Bees offers a scalable model for enhancing ecological diversity in cities, campuses, coastal areas, and other public environments—encouraging coexistence between human activity and diverse forms of life.