Bee Hotels

Age Range: All Ages

Time Required: 10 - 20 minutes

Fundamental: Outdoors

Australia has lots of native bees. Check them out here https://www.aussiebee.com.au/keyfacts.html
Make our native bees feel welcome in your backyard with their very own hotel!

Materials Needed

Empty tin can (Beetroot, Baked Beans or similar)
Bamboo
Clay (optional)
String
Hessian (optional)
Brown paint
Paint brush
Scissors
Secateurs
Wooden Skewer (optional)
Glue

Instructions

Gather some bamboo. Bees like long thin holes to hide in so it doesn’t have to be thick pole like bamboo, thinner shoots will do.
Using Garden Secateurs or a hand saw cut the bamboo to be the same length as your can.
You may also like to use some clay. Either pack the clay into some larger bamboo sticks or around your bamboo. You can also use a wooden Skewer to put some long holes in the clay too.
If you would like your hotel to blend into the garden, you can glue on some hessian or similar or you can paint your can brown.
When you are finished attach some string to your can so it can be hung in the tree or bush.

As a Girl Guide, How Can I Lead This Activity?

Use this activity as a starting point for an Explore a Challenge badge.

As a Unit Leader, How Can I Make This Activity Girl Led?

Set this as a holiday badge activity.

As a Unit, how can we make sure everyone is included?

Complete this activity as a Unit, providing supplies for your girls.

Follow Up Questions and Reflections

What can we do differently next time?
What other activities could you do with your new skills?
How did it make you feel?
What did you like or dislike?
What did you learn?

Activity source and acknowledgements

Contributed by Felina French