The Bloomingdale Trail Bee Cart

exploring the idea of a native pollinator highway along one of Chicago’s recreational trails

Located on the northwest side of Chicago, the Bloomingdale Trail is a 2.7-mile elevated walking and running trail that spans east to west and connects numerous neighborhoods to create a remarkable green space and alternative transportation corridor. Also referred to as the 606, the trail provides users with an outdoor recreation space that is immersed in nature and features a variety of art installations throughout.

Omni Workshop™ was engaged to study ways to activate underutilized parcels at several entry points below the Bloomingdale Trail. In collaboration with Bike-A-Bee, NeighborSpace, and Perkins and Will, Omni developed a concept to create a network of apiaries to link the segmented parcels along the trail.

Designed to promote the presence of honeybees and native pollinators, the addition of a “native pollinator highway” to the existing trail is intended to help the native vegetation along the Bloomingdale Trail grow and encourage smaller ecosystems to develop.

The team studied one single parcel located on the west end of the trail and identified improvements that needed to be made on other parcels along the trail. After presenting good/better/best design options for the segmented parcels, the effort culminated in a pop-up event in the Summer of 2019 that featured a signature “Bee Cart.”

Developed in partnership with Urban Habitat Chicago, the Bee Cart was constructed by the project team and brought onto the Bloomingdale Trail for one day. The structure sold jars of honey from Bike-A-Bee, which had a hive located on a parcel along the trail.

The Bee Cart was designed as a small-scale intervention to help the community understand the value of native pollinators while providing awareness and marketing for a native pollinator highway. It was also an illustration of a closed loop system that showcases the many benefits of plants. Money generated from the Bee Cart could be used for maintenance of the native pollinator highway system.  

Location
Chicago, IL

Type
Public Space