The Missing Workshop
Solitary Bees pollinate more flowers than any other group of insects ensuring that plant communities are healthy and productive. Osmia aurulenta is the only solitary bee in Ireland that makes its nest in empty snail shells but it is under threat. Over the last 30 years up to 30% of Ireland's insects have disappeared, and UCD Artist in Residence Mark Clare and EI associate member Tara Dirilgen (School of Agriculture and Food Science) talk about pollinators, biodiversity loss and this fascinating species of solitary bee.
The second part of the coffee morning involves a clay modelling workshop with Mairead Stafford where participants make two ceramic shells, to be pit-fired in UCD by our colleagues in the Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture. Participants will keep one shell and donate the second to The Unavoidable Interconnectedness of Everything, an art project developed by Mark, with each donated shell representing one of the 1,000,000 species in danger of extinction.
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