🐞Primary Environmental Committee Builds Bug Hotels to Boost Biodiversity 🌱

Last year, the Primary TASS Ambassadors and the Primary Environmental Committee completed a biodiversity audit of our green roof. They found that AISHK had many species of plants, however they didn’t see a wide variety of insects and other wildlife. After great discussions with other TASS schools across Asia the Primary TASS Ambassadors decided that they wanted to introduce bug hotels to the green spaces around AISHK to encourage more native insects to make our school grounds their home. 

This week, the Primary Environmental Committee introduce this idea to the school community. We first watched a short video on how bug hotels work, and why they are important for boosting biodiversity. We then collected the materials and got building. 

These will be placed around the school campus over the next term to help reintroduce vital insects to our school campus. 

This is also a GREAT summertime activity that YOU can do at home to help boost biodiversity in your community. Here’s how:

🥫Tin Can Bug Hotel🐞

Materials

• Empty tin can – washed and dried (watch out for sharp edges)

• Organic material (Dry twigs, sticks, leaves, grasses)

• String, twine or ribbon

• AVOID: plastics and other non-natural materials

Procedure

1. Make sure your container is washed and dried. Careful of sharp edges. 

2. Fill your tin with lots of different sized twigs, sticks, leaves, and whatever other organic material that you have collected. Make sure it’s a snug fit in the can.

3. Once filled you can tie a string around the can near the front, and again at the back, then connect the tied string with a longer piece allowing it to hang.

4. Hang your bug hotel from a tree or hide it in your garden.  You could also place it in a planter box, or on your balcony.

Remember

🐞Use only natural materials or cardboard. 

🐞Make sure to pack it tight so the materials don’t fall out.

🐞Make sure you tie it or place it level, so the water doesn’t pool inside (we don’t want mosquitos).

🌿 Calling All Eco-Minded Parents! Do you work in sustainability, environmental science, or a green industry? We’d love to connect! Your expertise could help enrich our school’s environmental initiatives and inspire the next generation of changemakers. Reach out to Melissa Pepper (melissa_pepper@aishk.edu.hk) or Taran Chadha (taran_chadha@aishk.edu.hk) and share a bit about who you are, and what you do.