Maltman's Green is open to bugs

Posted on 2nd Oct 2019 in School News, Outdoor Learning

Maltman's Green School is delighted to announce the installation of three huge, new bug hotels on school grounds.

Bugs are having a tough time. With the increased loss of natural habitats, the cracks and crevices that bugs use to shelter, live and breed are being destroyed. A bug hotel offers a great way to recycle a mixture of household/garden materials, and provides all kinds of creepy crawlies with somewhere to live.

This project has been in conjunction with Willmott Dixon who have supplied building materials and practical expertise for the construction of the bug hotels. All the Maltman’s girls have been able to take part – from those in day-care all the way up to Year 6. Over the last weekend the girls collected a wide range of natural materials including sheep’s wool, bark, twigs, slate, straw, leaves and acorns, to go into their bug hotels – lots for the bugs to explore!

The girls enjoyed visiting each bug hotel site to learn more about construction, building materials and biodiversity and enjoying packing in all their natural materials and watching the hotels grow to two meters tall. Finally, to top it all off, the roofs of the Bug Hotels (yet to come) are specially designed rooftop gardens, to encourage insects to pause on their journey for a drop of nectar.

Teachers and girls are delighted to have these beautiful havens for wildlife in the school grounds and are sure they will be used and loved by bugs for many years to come.