Dandara donations: Yapton school welcomes gift of bee and bug hotels

The Forest Stewardship Council approved wooden bee and bug hotels were donated to Yapton CE Primary School by housebuilder Dandara as part of its bid to help the communities near its developments.

The hotels offer a safe place for a variety of solitary bees, such as orchard, mason and leafcutter varieties.

They have been installed in a quiet part of the school grounds and will be used as an educational aid to show pupils the role bees and other insects play as native pollinators.

Kim Huggett, head teacher, said: "With our bees under threat and the prevention of even further losses of these pollinators absolutely crucial, this activity was a great way of ensuring the next generation is discussing this from an early age.

"We are glad to see Dandara encouraging this with the donation of our new bee homes and look forward to seeing in the autumn term if any bees have moved in over the summer.”

Dandara, which is building its Paddock View development just down the road, has an ongoing partnership with the school, including the pupils naming the new streets.

Nicki Dennis, head of sales at Dandara Southern, said: "As a responsible housebuilder, we are constantly working to try to find simple but effective ways to safeguard local wildlife, so are really pleased to be able to continue our work with Yapton CE Primary School and donate these bee hotels.

"Research shows that the bee populations are declining, so our hope is that the donation to the pupils will protect the local bees and reverse this trend but also stimulate discussions around the long-term conservation of these populations.”

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