AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Responsible Consumption & Production, Life On Land
KEYWORDS
beehive, bees, biodiversity, mycelium
COUNTRY
Ireland
DESIGNED BY
Niamh Damery
WEBSITE
https://www.ul.ie/scieng/schools-and-departments/school-design/designul-2020/product-design-technology-showcase-2020/niamh-damery-econooc
Econooc
Conservation beehive creating awareness, not waste
Econooc is conservation beehive made from natural and repurposed materials. I wanted to make a product to help biodiversity but didn’t want to create more waste. The primary material used in it is mycelium which is what mushrooms grow from. Other materials used were remoulded waste plastic and bamboo composite. Econooc is modular which makes it easy to repair and can be completely broken down at end-of-life.
My aim with this hive was to get people engaged with biodiversity and make keeping a hive more accessible to a wider range of people while also helping protect the wild bee population. The Econooc calendar teaches the users about the internal activity of the hive, about what is happening in their garden and provides tips to help them develop a more biodiverse garden. The calendar is made from paper embedded with wildflower seeds which the user can plant to encourage bee pollination.