Bug Hotel Workshop

Quinn London’s heritage project at the Warburg Institute has partnered up with local primary school, Copenhagen Primary School to deliver bug hotel workshops with year 3 and 4 classes.

The school have been working on increasing awareness and understanding the importance of biodiversity in the urban environment within their curriculum whilst this can be challenging QLL collaborated with ecologists to teach the children the importance of flora and fauna.

The materials used to make the bug hotels for the workshops were made from scrap plywood pulled from the flooring of Warburg Institute. Our carpenters on site gave this wood a new lease of life by creating 10 hotels which included a larger hotel for the site garden.

The hotels were filled with bamboo, cardboard, pinecones, twigs, scrap wood and leaves providing a home for beneficial insects that can help pollinate the plants around Copenhagen Primary Schools Garden as well as Woburn Garden Square.

Many of our parks within London have a wide range of diversity of insects and fungi. Insects allow gardens to bloom and are essential to a thriving ecosystem. These insects are in the food chain for pollinating insects like bees, hoverflies and butterflies which allow plants to reproduce. They also attract other wildlife to the garden as birds and mammals rely on them as a food source.

Sustainability benefits

Environmental

Provides a home for many types of insects. Attraction of other pollinators including bees, butterflies and beetles. The hotel was made from recovered, biodegradable and recycled materials (cardboard, bamboo, and scrap wood)

Economic

As the material was recycled and claimed from site this cut the costs of the creating bug hotel workshop.

Social

The site supported biodiversity for Copenhagen Primary School by hiring ecologist Tony Pryce to give a workshop on the benefits of biodiversity in the Urban Development.

The workshop improved team moral and give the opportunity for everyone to engage and learn something new about biodiversity and the importance of reusing materials.

Quotes from Copenhagen Primary School about the Bug hotel workshop

“I liked the trip, we got to help the bugs have a home because they’re dying and there will be less bugs” – Calise Year 3

“I liked how we gave the bugs homes that they can live in, to protect themselves from predators and the weather. We worked as a team to make them. Now the bug hotels are in our garden” – Sarah Year 3

“Making bug hotels inspired me to become a zoologist. Looking at animals and their own natural habitats is interesting. I learnt there’s about 400 types of bee species and we also found out the longest wingspan of a bird is 3.5 metres” – Ahmed Year 4

“We learnt about how bees produce things for us like honey. I feel we’re making a big difference for loads of bugs with our bug hotels.” – Khadija Year 4

“I liked how we gave the bugs a home as lots of animals are dying including bugs, bees and many other animals. I’m very happy that they have a home to live in” – Lowi Year 4