BeeTotems are ‘bear-sized’ flowering street objects with a diameter of 120 centimetres. They are top restaurants for specific species of wild bees. In the middle of the totem is a tube in which tiger worms (Eisenia fetida) live. The worms eat vegetable leftovers and other organic kitchen waste. They are supplied by a group of local residents who have signed a covenant pledging to look after the BeeTotem. The worms leave the tube through holes and pee out ‘worm tea’. This is a high-quality natural fertiliser that is absorbed by the plants growing in the soil. As a result, the plant produces quality pollen and nectar and radiates this to the respective wild bee. Each totem is dedicated to a different wild bee with its own plant preferences. Quality food, through high quality nectar and pollen, ensures greater growth and resistance of the new generation of bees. The totem is circular and alive.

The BeeTotem became a collective piece of work through the efforts of the partners who helped develop new 3D printing techniques. David van der Veldt of Veldtwerk provided essential technical advice and 3D print design, Vincent Koning of 3D Orbit and the team of gentlemen of HB|3D bv printed the designs. The confidence and insight of these innovative entrepreneurs has given the project a new impulse. It was quite a challenge to 3D print the BeeTotem with a five-axis converted robot arm (from the car industry) and an ingenious script. Material: recycled plastic bottles. An absolute premiere in its complexity for the Netherlands, maybe even worldwide!

The hyper-realistic bee sculptures (enlarged 12500 times) on top of the BeeTotems are printed by 3D Orbit. Naturalis Naturalis (Dutch Nature Museum) supplied all specimens of the 104 wild bee species present in Amsterdam. Sebastian Schmelzle and Michael Heethoff of the ecology department of TU Darmstadt cooperated by scanning and processing the wild bees with the most accurate 3D microscan equipment in Europe. The digital file became the basis for the three-dimensional prints of the bee species that the totem helps saving from extinction. As 3D printing techniques are still in their infancy, all partners in the BeeTotem project are taking a risk, both financially and technically. We are very happy to be working with  Cruydthoeck De Heliant, the largest organic native plant nursery in the Netherlands, and to have found a partner in them. Also with Ninabel, who provides the BeeTotem with additional organic, and bee-luring plants and with her knowledge for the right proportions and planting. Spring Music an independent music label run by composer and cellist Ernst Reijseger, orchestrates heaven on earth and makes every opening an unforgettable experience. We are very proud that we have succeeded together and hope very much that the BeeTotem will find its way to a large audience. We believe in a holistic approach with circularity and up-cycling as a must.