Three research projects studying Pollinator Pathmaker are currently underway. The pilot study is in its third year of monitoring with Dr Christopher Kaiser-Bunbury at the University of Exeter, comparing pollinator richness and visitation at the Eden Project Edition with garden border plantings and wildflower meadows. To date, we’ve seen that the artwork attracts more pollinator species and flower visits early and late in the season, thereby supporting a higher diversity of pollinators at times when fewer floral resources are available in the nearby border plantings and meadows.

A wild bee specialist and his team studied the Pollinator Pathmaker LAS Edition in front of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and a neighbouring control area since the planting and compared these to other flowering areas across Berlin. They found a significant increase in the number of wild bee species compared to the average, along with 15 rare and endangered species enjoying the artwork. The scientists concluded that the artwork is a “complete habitat” and that the “project can already be rated a complete success in its first year".

Insects, plants and humans alike are being studied as Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg partners with the University of Exeter and the University of Edinburgh for a multi-year, cross-disciplinary research experiment funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Working with network ecologists, social scientists and philosophers of science, Pollinator Pathmaker Constantine Network will investigate how living artworks can conserve pollinator diversity in limited and fragmented urban spaces, and how these artworks empower the public to engage in nature-positive actions.