0202505130955
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Bee Hotels to Boost Bees After Bushfires Description: The project Bee hotels to boost bees after bushfires supported the recovery of native bee populations by installing artificial nesting substrates (bee hotels) in areas of high biodiversity value that were impacted by the 2019/20 bushfires. This was achieved through an Australia-wide citizen science effort, as well as through intensive monitoring of 100 bee hotels (50 bamboo and 50 wooden) and visual surveys at five burnt sites and three control sites by a native bee ecologist. We recruited and provided information resources to 63 community groups and citizens to support native bee recovery in fire-affected regions across the country. An iNaturalist project facilitated citizen science data collection and allowed us to evaluate the impact of installed bee hotels and their uptake by bees: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bee-hotels-to-boost-australian-bees-after-thebushfires. 195 observations were uploaded to this project by citizen scientists. Importantly, at least 900 nests were created by bees in the bee hotels installed for this project and significantly more bees were observed in sites with bee hotels compared to control sites (nearby burnt sites without bee hotels). All milestones were met within the anticipated timeline (Table 1) and budget, even with setbacks for some participants due to the pandemic. The project also attracted many participants and nation-wide interest, thus increasing awareness of native cavity-nesting bees.
STARDIT ID:
STARDIT ID:
0202505130955
Dates
State completed
Start 2021-05-01
End 2022-05-01
Form updated 2025-05-13
Report authors
Kit Prendergast (link)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1164-6099
kitprendergast21@gmail.com
Main author, lead researcher, funder acquisition, project design, project management, data collection, data curation, media engagement, citizen science coordination
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1164-6099
kitprendergast21@gmail.com
Main author, lead researcher, funder acquisition, project design, project management, data collection, data curation, media engagement, citizen science coordination
Rachele Wilson
Assisted in citizen science management, editing report
Assisted in citizen science management, editing report
Location
Australia
Aims
Trial the ability of bee hotels to promote colonisation of cavity-nesting native bees after bushfires
Arm bushfire-affected communities with an easy-to-implement tool to assist with native bee recovery after bushfires
Keywords
citizen science
native bees
bee hotels
bushfires
wildfires
bees
wild bees
conservation
Category
management/monitoring
Inputs
organisation
Australian Native Bee Assocation (link)
Task: Managed funding, grant submitted through the organisation
Compensation: paid
organisation
Wallabi Coast Care (link)
Task: Installed bee hotels and monitored monthly, uploading photos to iNaturalist
Method: Bee hotel installing and monitoring
Recruitment: Facebook and social media posts
Communication: iNaturalist, email
Compensation: volunteer
group of individuals
Citizen scientists as part of the Bee Hotels to Boost Bees After Bushfires iNaturalist project (19) (link)
Task: Installing and monitoring bee hotels and uploading them to the iNaturalist project
Compensation: volunteer
other resources
Making 1000 bee hotels
Stephen Prendergast assisted in making 1000 bee hotels for the intensive bee hotel monitoring surveys in Western Australia
Outputs and impacts
publication/report/document
State: Completed
Bee hotels to boost bees after bushfires Report BRCG000116 Australian Native Bee Association Inc Bushfire Recovery for Wildlife & Habitat Community Grants Program (link)
Impact: Demonstrated the success of using bee hotels as a bushfire recovery tool, but the challenges from a citizen science perspective when instructions for bee hotels are not followed.
publication/report/document
Article summary written for the ANBA newsletter 'The Cross Pollinator' (link)
Impact: Publicised to the ANBA community the outcomes of the project
event
Science communication of Bee Hotels to Boost Bees After Bushfires at Pint of Science Brisbane 2022 (link)
Impact: Shared to science-interested general public in a fun and engaging style the Bee Hotels to Boost Bushfires project and outcomes
publication/report/document
State: Ongoing
Peer-reviewed publication
Impact: Peer-reviewed publication on the efficacy of using bee hotels as tools to assist in recolonisation of post-fire habitats by cavity-nesting bees