Bugs, Trees and Me

By spreading ideas of concrete actions that will help mitigate the loss of biodiversity, I encourage  people change ingrained habits. My puppets show why we should not use pesticides in our grass, not rake leaves, especially under trees, and why we should plant native plants.

The performance consists of a series of interconnected vignettes, each telling the story of an insect, bee, or plant that is suffering because of how we have changed their habitats.

One such vignette concerns an oligolectic bee called Bobee  that can only suck the pollen from violets, but can’t find this native flower and is hungry. He asks non-native flowers (tulips and daffodils), who are either fascist or self-obsessed. Then he sees a violet but before reaching it, insecticide is sprayed and it dies. Now, the bee flies lopsidedly.

Finally, he sees a grandmother bee who tells him that there is a violet in a nearby forest.  The bee flies off and spots it. The violet is happy that finally a bee has come.

As much as possible, I used natural materials to make native bugs and plants, such as felting wool and Methyl Cellulose, a bio-based material. The cultivated plants were made from recycled plastic cups, K-cups, plastic bags and other recognizable plastics. I also use a crankie to show the various places that the bee flies to.

Photo and video credit: Andre Burger