redefining impact on biodiversity intelligenge
Urban biodiversity is essential for creating resilient ecosystems, yet efforts often remain scattered and siloed. Enter Bloom—a digital platform transforming beehives into actionable sustainability insights. Developed in collaboration between Humblebee and Stadskupan through HIVE14, Bloom provides governments, scientists, and businesses with real-time data on biodiversity health, bridging the gap between ecological research and urban planning.
Humblebee's HIVE14, a student-driven digital innovation lab, in collaboration with Stadskupan, a urban beekeeping organisation.
How might we leverage beehive data to create scalable and actionable biodiversity intelligence, fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and businesses?
Bloom transformed urban biodiversity efforts by centralizing pollen analysis, ecosystem monitoring, and policy insights, providing Gothenburg with a data-driven sustainability framework that positioned Stadskupan as a leader in urban biodiversity intelligence beyond beekeeping services.
Bees are crucial to biodiversity, yet their impact remains undocumented in urban settings. Stadskupan’s urban hives held untapped potential—not just as pollinators but as data points in measuring environmental health.
However, the lack of a centralised data platform meant insights were scattered, and stakeholders lacked the means to translate biodiversity data into action.
Preliminary Research on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Through stakeholder interviews, co-creation sessions, and system mapping, we identified three major challenges:
Pollen analysis lacked a structured framework to inform decisions.
Scientists, businesses, and policymakers operated independently, missing opportunities for collaboration.
Companies sponsoring hives had no measurable way to validate biodiversity improvements.
The Bloom project was an exercise in bridging disciplines, fostering collaboration, and translating ecological data into impact. It reinforced the importance of small, strategic interventions that build towards systemic change while ensuring continuous iteration and feasibility from concept to implementation.
Instead of a radical overhaul, we made incremental improvements that fit within existing ecosystems. This ensured measurable and adaptable interventions with immediate impact.
Bringing developers in early prevented handover issues and ensured a feasible, user-centred solution. This continuous collaboration bridged design and tech.
Aligning scientists, policymakers, and businesses required careful facilitation. Co-creation was essential, ensuring that each stakeholder’s expertise shaped the platform’s functionality.
Applying futures thinking helped us envision long-term value and define phased growth strategies, ensuring gradual adoption and financial sustainability.
