Berlin summt! – Mit den Bienen als Botschafterinnen für mehr Stadtnatur

Cornelis F. Hemmer became a conservationist in 1978 at the age of 15 when he helped build toad fencing to protect amphibians. His other experiences of sustainability practices include removing undergrowth to protect orchids, grouse telemetry (which provides information about the chosen habitats of endangered black grouse), capturing and ringing bats, creating environments with aids for wild bees’ nests and using rooftop beekeeping to increase the ecological sensibility of executives. In 2010 he founded the charity Stiftung für Mensch und Umwelt together with his wife Dr. Corinna Hölzer with the aim to make conservation of the environment and species more widely understood. With its initiative “Deutschland summt!” the foundation created a nationwide network of bee conservationists who were active in their communities to promote greater biological diversity.