As part of a continuing ecological media art program, two practical workshops deal with environmental sensing. First Jonas Z. (SK/PL/NL) is building up an automatic water control system for the rooftop garden. Then we look into further ways of monitoring the beehives as part of a larger artistic research project. Both workshops are happening in the OKNO rooftop gardens. For participation please contact us.

1. A water management system for the rooftop garden.With OSMOGAS (open source modular gardening systems) Jonas Z. is building easy deployable modular systems for gardens. It consists of modules with evironmental measurement sensors (air pollution, humidity, temperature, UV, wind, pH, …), and digitally controlled switches for water pumps, lights, fog-generators. The project wants to offer a cheap, and versatile system that all of us can setup easily, according to changing circumstances. As one of the first applications, we are building a water management system for the garden. Yes! it is art, but it will work!
http://osmogas.okno.be

2. The bee monitoring project.In the city centre, OKNO is working on 2 rooftop gardens hosting 10 beehives in total, good for aproximately 400.000 city honeybees. The hives in each of the gardens are populated with Apis mellifera carnica. The 2 gardens are linked by the bees’ overlapping foraging territories and flightroutes, thus creating a biological corridor in the city. The workshop is focusing on an enhanced monitoring of these bee colonies during their summer activities.
http://timeinventorskabinet.org/wiki/doku.php/bee_monitoring_workshops
http://wiki.opengreens.net/doku.php?id=bee_monitoring_technology