Bee hotel workshop at the Rohrspatzen in Heidelberg a complete success
by Michael Watson (comments: 0
With hammers, brushes and hoes, 20 children from the Rohrspatzen daycare center in Heidelberg set an example for biodiversity yesterday. At the Bee friendly bee hotel workshop, Janina Waschik's mole group diligently built nesting aids for wild bees and sowed seeds for wildflower meadows. The kindergarten wants to promote biodiversity in the city of Heidelberg and get children involved in nature conservation from an early age.
After a short round of introductions, the 3 to 6-year-olds couldn't wait to get started. The very first step was to work on old tin cans to make them cozy for wild bees. Together with Sascha, Dominik and Michael, the children used hammers, nails and a great deal of care to knock holes in the cans to provide ventilation. "Otherwise it gets really uncomfortable, hot and stuffy in the bee hotel in summer," Sascha explains to the children. Tin cans are ideal for wild bee nesting aids as they are waterproof and a suitable length. You can also "upcycle" the waste and create something new instead of throwing it away.
In the next step, the children filled their empty tins with cardboard tubes and bamboo. These had very different diameters so that both large and small wild bees could find shelter in them. Once the nesting tubes were firmly stowed away, it was time to decorate. Because even wild bees like it colorful! They can see from afar where they have laid their eggs and don't have to spend time and energy looking for their home.
Of course, wild bees not only need a roof over their heads, but also something to snack on. That's why the children in the mole group also provided food. They sowed wildflower seeds from Bee friendly in several balcony boxes and flower pots. These will sprout in a few weeks when it gets warmer and then bloom into October. So the bees have enough food and habitat until the fall!