Building a bug hotel in Millport

Spring is a busy time for any allotment or garden. There are important jobs to be done, such as turning over beds, sowing seeds or planting out your first potatoes.

This is also an important time for wildlife as many species begin to wake from slumber, open eyes for the first time, stretch open newly formed wings and begin foraging for food amongst the flushing trees and shrubs.

This time of year should be a cacophony of buzzing, flapping, rustling, crawling and birdsong.

Sadly, over the last few decades, Spring has become significantly quieter in many areas.

Some invertebrates have shown significant and worrying declines, especially insects such as bees and butterflies, which not only are vital for local ecosystems but which pollinate many of the flowers and vegetables grown by gardeners.

Some invertebrates, like ladybirds, also have the benefit of feeding on some common garden pests like aphids and greenfly. Increases in the numbers of some small animals like this leads to increases in larger animals such as birds, which can help keep slug populations at a controllable level. What is particularly clear is that a healthy local ecosystem means a healthy garden and a happy gardener!

Cumbrae Primary School is a stone’s throw from the community garden and look after one of the plots. In the last couple of years they have used the garden as an extended outdoor classroom, planting all manner of flowers and vegetables. During a recent visit, the pupils focused on mini-beasts in the garden using surveys from the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL).

Within seconds the first cry rang out: “I’ve found a worm!” A few more seconds passed: “I’ve got one too!” After about 15 minutes, we had found several species of earthworm, two species of millipede, hundreds of common rough woodlouse and several ground beetles. We recorded our results using the OPAL Bugs Count Survey, a national ‘Citizen Science’ scheme helping scientists monitor the distribution of important invertebrate species.

After lunch, we discussed how to improve the area for certain species, including providing somewhere for them to live and some food for them to eat. We quickly set to work gathering sticks, stones, leaves, grass and even plant pots, filling leftover pallets full of different nooks and crannies for mini-beasts to shelter in.

Building a “bug hotel” can take a long time, but with a team of pupils we had constructed a very respectable refuge within a couple of hours.

The bug hotel was capped off with a small bed, later filled with topsoil, and sown with a variety of invertebrate friendly flowers. The pupils helped by sowing some common cornflower in the polytunnel, a large blue flower very popular with bees.

The school will be back down soon to see the fruits (or flowers) of their efforts. The volunteers who run the Cumbrae Community Garden hope that it is not only a fantastic gathering place for local residents but also a great example of how food can be produced amongst a rich and diverse local ecosystem.

Cumbrae Primary School paid a recent visit to the community garden in Millport and found out some exciting things concerning creepy-crawlies thanks to a “bug hotel”, and much more besides. Here is a community garden report on their visit ...

Spring is a busy time for any allotment or garden. There are important jobs to be done, such as turning over beds, sowing seeds or planting out your first potatoes.

This is also an important time for wildlife as many species begin to wake from slumber, open eyes for the first time, stretch open newly formed wings and begin foraging for food amongst the flushing trees and shrubs.

This time of year should be a cacophony of buzzing, flapping, rustling, crawling and birdsong.

Sadly, over the last few decades, Spring has become significantly quieter in many areas.

Some invertebrates have shown significant and worrying declines, especially insects such as bees and butterflies, which not only are vital for local ecosystems but which pollinate many of the flowers and vegetables grown by gardeners.

Some invertebrates, like ladybirds, also have the benefit of feeding on some common garden pests like aphids and greenfly. Increases in the numbers of some small animals like this leads to increases in larger animals such as birds, which can help keep slug populations at a controllable level. What is particularly clear is that a healthy local ecosystem means a healthy garden and a happy gardener!

Cumbrae Primary School is a stone’s throw from the community garden and look after one of the plots. In the last couple of years they have used the garden as an extended outdoor classroom, planting all manner of flowers and vegetables. During a recent visit, the pupils focused on mini-beasts in the garden using surveys from the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL).

Within seconds the first cry rang out: “I’ve found a worm!” A few more seconds passed: “I’ve got one too!” After about 15 minutes, we had found several species of earthworm, two species of millipede, hundreds of common rough woodlouse and several ground beetles. We recorded our results using the OPAL Bugs Count Survey, a national ‘Citizen Science’ scheme helping scientists monitor the distribution of important invertebrate species.

After lunch, we discussed how to improve the area for certain species, including providing somewhere for them to live and some food for them to eat. We quickly set to work gathering sticks, stones, leaves, grass and even plant pots, filling leftover pallets full of different nooks and crannies for mini-beasts to shelter in.

Building a “bug hotel” can take a long time, but with a team of pupils we had constructed a very respectable refuge within a couple of hours.

The bug hotel was capped off with a small bed, later filled with topsoil, and sown with a variety of invertebrate friendly flowers. The pupils helped by sowing some common cornflower in the polytunnel, a large blue flower very popular with bees.

The school will be back down soon to see the fruits (or flowers) of their efforts. The volunteers who run the Cumbrae Community Garden hope that it is not only a fantastic gathering place for local residents but also a great example of how food can be produced amongst a rich and diverse local ecosystem.