Creating healthier metropolitan ecosystems: honey bee habitat as a guideline for change

This thesis explores the history, needs and habitat of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), producing a set of guidelines that integrates bee habitat with human habitat to ultimately create more sustainable, healthier, urban environments. Habitats, both natural and metropolitan, across the globe have been altered by human development and are no longer able to function in healthy and sustainable ways. The interconnectedness of ecological systems creates opportunities for the system to adjust itself, but also means that if one aspect of the system is harmed, destroyed or altered the effect will ripple outward in unexpected ways. Honey bee numbers have been declining for many years but since 2006 the patterns have changed; whole hive systems have collapsed. This ripple in the ecological system is of particular interest to agriculture and to 1/3 of the world’s food supply. Economic concerns resulting from honey bee decline, are many, environmental concerns are yet to be determined. This work presents one possible model to improve ecological systems within metropolitan areas. Its purpose is to create connections and links between traditional urban planting design and natural systems that will support sustainable honey bee populations while also supporting sustainable, healthier, multifunctional neighborhoods for humans. It is my hope that by creating an efficient method to relay this ecological information to the urban population more quality habitat areas may be integrated into the fabric of our cities.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.L.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Landscape Architecture

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Hurst, Trisha R

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kovacic, David A.
• Sears, Stephen
• Berenbaum, May

• Honey bee
• Planting design
• Ecological design

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Trisha Hurst

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/95392

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/95392