The answer to this environmental question, with many ramifications in modern life, was attempted by the scientists – researchers of the Polytechnic School of the Democritus University of Thrace (DPTH), by creating an innovative construction product, i.e. a brick, capable of constituting a natural ecosystem for the development and hatching of solitary bees or pollinator bees and at the same time a modern building material for “green” masonry.
This innovative brick was successfully tested in the modern “Reinforced Concrete and Earthquake Structures” laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering of the IFT and was presented for the first time during a special event organized by the MOHA research center at the historic Imaret Hotel, in the old town of Kavala, on which was attended by representatives of local organizations and several beekeepers.
A brick turns into a building habitat for bees
Kavala: A refuge for solitary bees
“The ultimate goal of the research effort and the innovative brick that we manufactured and experimentally tested is for it to be, on the one hand, a safe building material for load-bearing masonry and, on the other hand, to function as a shelter for bees, where they can protect themselves and lay their eggs in it them” emphasizes the vice-rector of Finance, Planning and Development of the ITH Konstantinos Halioris, professor of the Department of Civil Engineering.
Today there are more than 20,000 species of pollinating bees worldwide, and only seven of them produce honey. 1,150 different species of bees live in Greece. In recent years there has been a dramatic decline in the total bee population. This is due to many factors, such as greater use of toxic chemical pesticides, climate change, fires and urbanization, which is a major driver of negative impacts on biodiversity.
Kavala: The bee’s contribution to sustaining life
Bees today are responsible for the continuous production of the evolution of life on the planet. It is worth emphasizing that 75% of the most important crops in the world rely on pollination. Without bees there would be a huge reduction in plant growth and by extension food supplies.
Aiming therefore to save these bee populations, the scientists-researchers from the departments of Civil Engineering and Architectural Engineering of the Polytechnic School of ITH in Xanthi as well as from the Physics department of the School of Positive Sciences of ITH in Kavala, built an innovative brick as a habitat for the pollinating bees, which at the same time can be a building material suitable for the creation of load-bearing masonry.
A brick turns into a building habitat for bees
Kavala: An innovative bee-friendly product
This particular type of brick has holes of various calibers, in which bees can find shelter. Speaking to APE-MPE, Mr. Halioris points out that this innovative product is in the next experimental stage, stressing that “the goal is to study if these species of solitary bees will approach the brick to function as a shelter. From the research we have done on its form to date we believe that this is feasible and achievable. However, it remains to be proven through additional research in collaboration with entomological researchers from the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences of the DTH. Because we may know a lot regarding the organized bee societies inside the hives, but we know very little regarding the solitary bees that act as pollinators.”
“The brick”, continues Mr. Halioris, “is made of natural materials, completely friendly not only to the environment but also to the bee. It does not contain any chemical elements or cement. Lime and geomortar were used, materials that are simulated in the bee’s natural environment.”
This natural brick is self-cleaning to avoid bee diseases, has a small carbon footprint, so it does not burden the environment, and the manufacturing and curing process takes place entirely without any heat treatment. But most importantly, what makes this product truly innovative as it changes what we knew regarding conventional building methods, is that it can be used as a load-bearing brick in organized building, in the context of a creative architecture.
Turning a garden into an urban bee sanctuary
The ultimate goal is for constructions made of such bricks to constitute an innovative natural building habitat for pollinating bees. The effort started from the concern of some academics and the awareness of some private individuals for the protection of the environment and especially the rescue of the solitary bee which is threatened by the ecological crisis with all that this implies for maintaining the delicate balance of ecosystems. In this context, the MOHA research center implements the MiEL project, taking a step towards creating a bee-friendly environment.
As the president of MOHA, Anna Missirian, emphasized during the event, “following the transformation of Imaret gardens and the Muhammad Ali museum into urban bee sanctuaries, with bee-friendly crops and practices, the MOHA research center aims to attract more public gardens, institutions and individuals to adopt creative proposals to understand, appreciate and protect one of the most precious creatures on our planet. The construction of this innovative brick by DPTH is a fact that aims in this direction and significantly supports the effort being made”.
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