Wild Weald: Building Bug Houses

For this Autumn’s Wild Weald event, Alconbury Weald welcomed the Nene Park team who held two wildlife workshops to help local families create their own bug houses to support some of our smallest inhabitants through the cold months ahead.

The sessions proved popular with children having lots of fun stuffing tinned cans with sticks and bamboo canes for insects to shelter in, and wrapping yellow and black wool around the outside to create bug homes that look like giant bees.  A total of 24 bug homes were created, with the children proudly showing off their creations and taking them home to take pride of place in their garden.

Vicky Chambers, Senior Education and Activities Officer for Nene Park, said: “My colleague Tom, our volunteer Barbara and I all had a fantastic time. It was great to be able to get to meet families from Alconbury Weald and the surrounding area and get to engage with them through our nature crafts, as well as showing them some of the things we do at Nene Park. They were all very friendly, enthusiastic and made some great bee bug homes. Hopefully we will get to see them on a visit to us in the future too.”

To support bugs in the winter, Vicky recommends leaving them some safe spaces and places for hibernation. If you have a garden, you can create your own little bug homes or even larger bug hotels. Bug homes can be as simple as tying some twigs and hollow sticks or bamboo canes together and putting them outside. You can also leave wild areas with vegetation for shelter or little log piles.

To find out more about Nene Park and the events and activities available, visit www.nenepark.org.uk