Do you want to create a haven for insects in your own backyard? Join Lakes Region Conservation Corps (LRCC) member, Connor Piechota and Erin Shilling, on Friday, May 11th from 10am to 12pm as they demonstrate the process of building a bug hotel! Participants will meet and create at the Squam Lakes Association (SLA) headquarters located at 534 US Route 3 in Holderness for the program.
Bugs are essential to the health of our ecosystems, and building habitats for them to put in your backyard can be enormously helpful for them. At this workshop, participants discuss the different ways insects and other crawlers benefit us, both for the environment and our economy. Then, work together to construct “hotels” with a wide variety of materials and nooks and crannies for a diverse population of bugs to inhabit. At the end of the day each group will go home with their personally designed bug hotel to put in their backyard.
Materials used for this workshop include various recycled supplies, such as bricks, wooden boards, ceramic pots, sticks, and small logs, among other things. The SLA has some of these materials, but participants are encouraged to bring anything they can contribute that would make the hotels even bigger and better- so long as they are not things that will decompose quickly like hay or grass, and aren’t heavily painted or chemically treated items. Participants are required to register for this program so that the SLA can prepare with enough materials for the workshop.
For more information, or to sign up for this Adventure Ecology Program, visit the SLA website (https://www.squamlakes.org/events/building-bug-hotels-creating-bug-and-insect-habitats) or contact the SLA directly (603-968-7336). Every Friday these free programs are open to the public and cover a variety of nature and conservation related topics.
