BEE Creative

Outreach and citizen science to promote ngaro huruhuru conservation

Art + Science

Can art and conversation influence conservation of ngaro huruhuru | native bees (and insects in general)?

Pam McKinlay (Otago Polytechnic) coordinates and curates Art + Science Projects. The Art+Science methodology builds depth with new and existing audiences and creates bridging opportunities with audiences outside the disciplines of the arts or sciences.

Thanks to funding from The Otago Participatory Science Platform, Jenny worked with Pam McKinlay (Otago Polytechnic) to run a series of “BEE Creative” workshops (July – September 2024). These workshops were designed to provide a fun way to share info about bee diversity and conservation. Students learned how to do screen printing and/or created flowers out of repurposed fabrics that could be added to a collage promoting a healthy bee environment. We chose 16 of these beautiful collages that capture the importance of planting a diverse assortment of flowers to feed ngaro huruhuru | native bees of Aotearoa, and created a 15-month calendar.

Click here to order BEE Creative Calendars!

Funding from The Otago Participatory Science Platform also supported a series of “Is it a Bee?” Insect Identification workshops to provide up-close looks at bees and other insects found in gardens, taking time to admire their microscopic colours and patterns.  

BEE Creative Workshops
  • A screen print of a native bee done by one of our intermediate students during a screen print workshop (April 2024).
BEE Creative Calendar
Insect ID Workshops
  • Lasioglossum sordidum (female)
  • L sordidum (female)
  • Lasioglossum sordidum (male)
  • L sordidum (male)
  • Lasioglossum maunga (female)
  • Leioproctus Nesocolletes fulvescens
  • L N fulvescens
  • Leioproctus pango
  • L pango
  • Leioproctus spp (male)
  • Weevil
  • Weevil
Not all bees are honey bees or bumble bees!

Take a look at some of the “other” bees (besides honey bees and bumble bees) that you might find visiting your gardens. Solitary bees are often (but not always) smaller than social bees, and can wear a wide variety of colours. Click on the iNaturalist.nz link in the caption to learn more about where and when it was found.

“Is it a Bee?”

Above, Jenny Jandt & Winter Miller ask “Is it a Bee?” to attendees of the Moana Nui Festival, Dunedin, September 2022.

The “Is it a Bee?” game asks participants to determine which of six images is displaying a bee. All insects used in the images were photographed in the Otago region of NZ. We bring this interactive game to science themed outreach events, along with information on how to use iNaturalist.nz to help identify organisms that folks might come across.

Insect Identification Workshops

Insect identification workshops are designed to train participants how to differentiate bees, flies, wasps and other insects and invertebrates found in their gardens.

Above, Jenny Jandt and Jay Iwasaki prepare for “Investigating Invertebrates“: an insect identification workshop open to the general public and hosted by the Department of Zoology in May 2016.

Outreach Activities

Check out some more of the outreach activities that have been organized by various students and whanau of the Jandt Lab.

The first Pollinator Workshop with AAPES and Slow Food Youth Otago.
Pollinator Workshop 2.0 at Tūhura Otago Museum.
Bug Day at Tūhura Otago Museum.
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  • Jack Matterson and Jenny are ready to play “Is it a Bee?”
  • Connal McLean and On Lee Lau are ready to raise money for NZ pollinator non-profit organizations.
  • Amogh Bettadpura, Cal Walter, and Aneesa Delpachitra wait for participants to feed bees.
  • Louis Griffin and Luna Grey dig through dirt to find hidden bugs
  • Okorite Itumo and Seruwaia Matairavula share butterfly games
  • Ben and Emily are prepared to share some pamphlets and info about backyard bugs.
  • Jack as a velvet worm.
BEE Aware Day at Tūhura Otago Museum.
  • Brodie Abel, Gisel Tanza, and Xuhong Chai promote insect themed merchandise
  • Daniela de Angeli Dutra and Yolanda van Heezik promote Urban Gardens.
  • Gina Mouat (left) and Winter Miller (right) feed bumble bees.
  • Connal McLean carries around a fellow bee during “Bug Day” 2023.
  • Luna Grey explains how easy it is to set up a Worm Farm.
  • Sajini and Ben are prepared to test your knowledge with our “Is it Native?” games.
  • Alexandria and Michael show off the complexities of flowers, pollen, and other critters under a microscope.
  • Adam is prepared to share gardening tips to protect pollinators.
  • Face painting by former Jandt Lab volunteer – Ngaio Woods
  • Cal Walter highlighting some of the ways we can connect with biodiversity.
  • Louis Griffin ready to dig through the leaf litter to see what’s hiding in there.
  • Zhuali Lim is always eager to explain why you should want to help save the bees.
  • Libby Manning wants to highlight that lizards are great to have in your backyard too!
  • Anne Besson sharing her love for reptiles.
  • Elliot Weir highlighting their fondness for birds and lizards.