The insect hotel workshops ran as a part of the Heligan Wild weekend in May 2013.

      Workshops were attended by many visitors to the gardens, who participated in the making of the hotel, by creating the small hotel rooms and habitats for insects.

      Education was a key part of the workshops, with visitors learning how to make a hotel for themselves at home and discovering which insects they could hope to attract.

      The key information being to face the hotel east for the warmth of the morning sun, with protection from prevailing winds and the rain. Materials were used to create many different type of insect homes, from bricks and that retain the suns warmth, to straw and bamboo.

     Insects that could be attracted include; solitary bees, beetles, bumble bees, butterflies, as well as amphibians that like the coolness and protection of stone piles...

                                           Click here to see the ongoing work on the insect hotel sculpture...