Designing for Interdependence of Bees, Garden, Designer, and the Changing Season

The speculation of alternative relationships between humans and nonhumans is a crucial element of examining our dominating stance towards nature amidst the ongoing environmental crisis. The notion of designing for interdependence challenges this status quo, focusing on a local ecosystem and embedding carefully crafted artefacts to foster more-than-human relationships. The presented work engages with the intricate interdependence of bees, artefacts, time and location through an ongoing case study of designing with and living with red mason bees (Osmia bicornis). Unpacking the first author’s design journey, we elucidate how attentive observations of the garden and engagement in activities such as the making of a beehouse have mobilized caring for the local ecosystem. With our focus on relationships emerging from situating oneself in a location for multispecies cohabitation, our research describes the dynamics of sharing resources between humans and nonhumans and its potential as a repertoire of more-than-human design.