Mobile phone for the gorilla

In addition to all the honey bees and my Alpine life style, I’m professionally into “impact, finance, sustainability” themes.

During the Summerschool “Climate Change” we discussed the sustainable use of resources with the case study: “a mobile phone for the gorilla”.

Interesting to discuss how huge global issues can be caused ( 🙁 ) and solved ( 🙂 ) by (the sum of) individual actions. Everybody can make a difference!

More information in German via: https://naturschutzbotschafter.fzs.org/de/handy-aktion/

Sweet honey bee logo

In the anticipation of some honey, I asked Ladiebirdy Graphic Design in London* to make a logo for the pots:

Engls Honig

“Angels Honey”

“Engls Honig” means “Angels Honey”. For sure it will have a heavenly taste! Not really made by angels, but equally fine by hardworking Carnica honey bees in Tyrol. Nickname “Arlberger Hochgebirgssportbienen”. And Engl refers actually to the previous beekeeper in the bee house I use. His name was Engelbert.

Next to the logo, we developed a bee dance picture. The bee dance is an intruiging way how bees communicate and orientate! The “Arlberger Hochgebirgssportbienen” know their ways around! For example into the Malfon Valley with great “Alpenrosen”.

Bee dance

Bee dance

 

 

 

 

*”With a joint love of animals and fun designs, Maria Cox runs the quirky Ladiebirdy company from her studio in West London. She sells her products from her online store, wholesale stockists and at handmade fairs, as well as a full time stall at Londons’ Spitalfields Market. If you’re interested in commissioning any work or have any wholesale enquiries, please get in touch now at ladiebirdy@hotmail.co.uk.”

 

Dress for Success (i)

Exactly what the bees and I needed for our fruitful cooperation! A decent English suit. Dress for Success! With BJ Sherriff. Just love the turquoise.

 

BJ Sherriff has been a leading bee keeping clothing and accessories company since 1968. A true, dedicated, pioneering family business. A great example of “caring, daring and sharing”. As BJ Sherriff states:

All our beekeeper clothing is responsibly designed, manufactured solely by family owned B J Sherriff in England using ethically sourced materials and components.

The proof of the honey is in the eating… Soon you will see the turquoise suit in action!

Interested? Check BJ Sherriffs website: https://www.bjsherriff.co.uk/

Or contact them via: +44 (0)1872 863304 or orders@bjsherriff.com

Honeycomb perfection

Honeycomb perfection

Honeycomb perfection

Bee keeping means entering a whole new world! It is so fascinating! This is a freshly built honeycomb of my “Engl-poulation” – the wax pattern is just perfect. The regular hexagon. The mathematical precision is amazing. It is the most efficient way of building, but it also displays a stunning geometric beauty. The cooperation of these small creatures is unbelievable too. Such a great organisation and society they live in.

 

“Young worker bees excrete slivers of warm wax, each about the size of a pinhead. Other workers take the freshly produced slivers and carefully position them to form vertical, six-sided, cylindrical chambers (or cells). Each wax partition is less than 0.1mm thick, accurate to a tolerance of 0.002mm. Each of the six walls is exactly the same width, and the walls meet at an angle of precisely 120 degrees, producing one of the “perfect figures” of geometry, a regular hexagon.”

 

A true wonder of nature. And the sweetest is yet to come into these perfect regular hexagons… honey!

 

 

Summer-(School!)-Time!

k.i.d.Z.21

Also this summer 2017 I will teach during several Summerschools “Climate Change” in Obergurgl, Tyrol, Austria.

These summer schools are part of the unique “k.i.d.Z.21” project of the University Innsbruck. More information (in German) via:

http://kidz.ccca.ac.at/

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In summary, the key aspects of the “Climate Change” Summerschool concept are:

– Exchange between Science and Schools

– Interdisciplinary approach/ different perspectives

– Constructivist learning method/ conceptual change theory

– Personal experience

Spending a week in the mountains brings new insights. Standing on a stunning, but melting glacier. Climate change is unfortunately visible.

Should you be interested, feel free to contact me. Some first impressions below and updates follow.