To celebrate Earth Day today we completed the build of our newest wildlife habitat in our Birds, Bugs and Bees area.

Last week, we started by collecting lots of items from around the site. Cut bamboo sticks; A left over half straw bale; Apple tree prunings; Chippings; Seed and flower heads; Some rubble left over from laying the slabs; Bricks with holes that we found in a skip -

One of the group built a simple triangular structure with two pallets and added stakes to hold it firmly in place. We then added a small framework inside to make a double level. And then started to stuff the centre of the framework. For this we used rubble and sticks to make a solid central area with lots of crevices for amphibians and bugs to hide in.

We added old down pipes and stuffed them with plant stems and straw. These were installed into the structure along with bricks that have holes in for nesting bees and lots of other natural stems, sticks, seed heads and bark.

We then finally stuffed any spaces around the edges with more straw and added slate roof to give a bit of protection from the elements.

We love our new wildlife habitat and so does Lottie the allotment cat. We hope it provides some cover for beneficial insects and amphibians in the months to come.